1966 Felthorpe Trident crash

Crash of a Trident airliner in a pre-delivery flight in 1966

Felthorpe Trident crash
Accident
A Trident identical to the accident aircraft, here photographed during a display flight
Date	3 June 1966 (1966-06-03)
Summary	Deep stall due to pilot error
Site	Felthorpe, Norfolk, United Kingdom 52°42′09″N 1°11′36″E / 52.702516°N 1.193228°E / 52.702516; 1.193228
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C
Operator	Hawker Siddeley
Registration	G-ARPY
Flight origin	Hatfield Aerodrome
Destination	Hatfield Aerodrome
Occupants	4
Crew	4
Fatalities	4
Survivors	0

On 3 June 1966, a newly built Hawker Siddeley Trident jetliner crashed during a pre-delivery test flight near the village of Felthorpe, Norfolk, England, killing all four crew. The aeroplane had entered a deep stall from which the crew were unable to recover. It was the first loss of a Trident aircraft.

Aircraft and crew

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a tri-jet Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C, registration G-ARPY, serial number 2126; that was about to be delivered to British European Airways.

Crew

The crew were pilots Peter Barlow and George Errington, and technicians E. Brackstone-Brown and G.W. Patterson.

Accident flight

The aircraft was making its first flight, which was a routine test flight to enable the aircraft's Certificate of Airworthiness to be issued. There were four crew on board. The aircraft took off from Hatfield Aerodrome at 16:52. Tests established that the stick shaker operated at 102 knots (189 km/h), and that stall recovery system operated at 93 knots (172 km/h). The crew then disconnected the stall warning systems in order to ascertain the actual margin left after the warning had been given before the aircraft stalled. On this particular flight, the aircraft was being operated with its centre of gravity towards its aft limit.

Shortly after 18:30, the pilot reported that the aircraft was in a "superstall". At the time, the aircraft was observed to be configured for landing. It was at an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 m). The nose was seen to pitch up by 30 to 40° before the aircraft turned to port, followed by the starboard wing dropping. Although full power was applied, the aircraft entered into a flat spin, and crashed at Felthorpe, killing all on board. It was not fitted with an anti-spin parachute. The site of the accident was in a field adjacent to Felthorpe Airfield.

Investigation

The Accidents Investigation Branch opened an inquiry into the accident. The investigation found that accident was the result of the pilot delaying recovery manoeuvres for too long, thereby allowing the aircraft to enter a deep stall from which it was impossible to recover.

References

"Hawker Siddeley Trident Accidents". Shockcone. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
"G-INFO Database". Civil Aviation Authority.
^ "G-ARPY Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
^ Middleton 1985, p. 237.
"DH121 Trident". de Havilland. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
"History". Felthorpe Flying Group. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2010.

Sources

Middleton, Don (1985). Test Pilots. London: Guild Publishing.
Deep Stall Disaster Flight International, 20 November 1968 p909-910

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1966 (1966)
Jan 14 Avianca Flight 03Jan 17 Palomares incidentJan 24 Air India Flight 101Jan 28 Lufthansa Flight 005Feb 2 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 17Feb 4 All Nippon Airways Flight 60Feb 16 Aeroflot Flight 302Feb 17 Aeroflot Flight 65Feb 28 NASA T-38 crashMar 4 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402Mar 5 BOAC Flight 911Mar 18 United Arab Airlines Flight 749Apr 22 American Flyers Airline Flight 280/DApr 23 Aeroflot Flight 2723Apr 27 LANSA Flight 501Jun 3 Felthorpe Trident crashJun 29 Philippine Air Lines Flight 785Jul 4 Air New Zealand DC-8 crashJul 22 Holden's Lightning flightAug 6 Braniff Flight 250Sep 1 Britannia Airways Flight 105Sep 22 Ansett-ANA Flight 149Sep 28 Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648 hijackingOct 1 West Coast Airlines Flight 956Nov 13 All Nippon Airways Flight 533Nov 15 Pan Am Flight 708Nov 24 TABSO Flight 101Dec 24 Flying Tiger Line Canadair CL-44 crash
1965 ◄ ► 1967

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1966 (1966)

Jan 14 Avianca Flight 03Jan 17 Palomares incidentJan 24 Air India Flight 101Jan 28 Lufthansa Flight 005Feb 2 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 17Feb 4 All Nippon Airways Flight 60Feb 16 Aeroflot Flight 302Feb 17 Aeroflot Flight 65Feb 28 NASA T-38 crashMar 4 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402Mar 5 BOAC Flight 911Mar 18 United Arab Airlines Flight 749Apr 22 American Flyers Airline Flight 280/DApr 23 Aeroflot Flight 2723Apr 27 LANSA Flight 501Jun 3 Felthorpe Trident crashJun 29 Philippine Air Lines Flight 785Jul 4 Air New Zealand DC-8 crashJul 22 Holden's Lightning flightAug 6 Braniff Flight 250Sep 1 Britannia Airways Flight 105Sep 22 Ansett-ANA Flight 149Sep 28 Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648 hijackingOct 1 West Coast Airlines Flight 956Nov 13 All Nippon Airways Flight 533Nov 15 Pan Am Flight 708Nov 24 TABSO Flight 101Dec 24 Flying Tiger Line Canadair CL-44 crash

1965 ◄ ► 1967

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom in the 1960s
1962	Channel Airways Dakota accident (May 1962)
1963	BAC One-Eleven test crash (October 1963)
1965	British United Airways Flight 1030X (April 1965)* Little Baldon air crash (6 July 1965) Skyways Coach-Air Avro 748 crash (11 July 1965) Cambrian Airways Liverpool crash (20 July 1965) Pan Am Flight 292 (September 1965)* British European Airways Flight 706 (October 1965)
1966	Felthorpe Trident crash (June 1966) Holden's Lightning flight (July 1966)
1967	Stockport air disaster (June 1967) Iberia Flight 062 (November 1967)
1968	Hawker Hunter Tower Bridge incident (5 April 1968) BOAC Flight 712 (8 April 1968) BKS Air Transport Flight C.6845 (July 1968)
1969	Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 (January 1969) 1969 theft of C-130 (May 1969)
Accidents and incidents in Crown Dependencies and current Overseas Territories are marked with an asterisk (*). 1950–1959 ◄ 1960–1969 ► 1970–1979

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