Llandow air disaster
An Avro Tudor V similar to the incident aircraft
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 12 March 1950 |
| Summary | Stall |
| Site |
Sigingstone, Wales 51°26′04″N 3°28′39″W / 51.43445°N 3.47739°WCoordinates: 51°26′04″N 3°28′39″W / 51.43445°N 3.47739°W |
| Passengers | 78 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 80 |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 3 |
| Survivors | 3 |
| Aircraft type | Avro 689 Tudor V |
| Operator | Airflight operating as Fairflight |
| Registration | G-AKBY |
| Flight origin | Dublin Airport |
| Destination | Llandow aerodrome |
The Llandow air disaster was an aircraft accident in Wales in 1950. At that time it was the world's worst air disaster with a total of 80 fatalities. The aircraft, an Avro Tudor V, had been privately hired to fly rugby union enthusiasts to and from an international game in Ireland; and the crash, which was caused by a stall, happened on the return flight.
On 12 March 1950, an Avro 689 Tudor V, Star Girl, owned by Airflight Limited and being operated under the "Fairflight" name, took off from Dublin Airport in Ireland, on a private passenger flight to Llandow aerodrome in South Wales. The aircraft had 78 passengers and 5 crew on the manifest. The flight had been chartered privately for a trip to Belfast to watch the Welsh rugby union team compete against the Irish in the Five Nations Championship at the Ravenhill Stadium. The aircraft had been initially booked for 72 passengers, but the plane had been stripped to accommodate another six.
The weather conditions were clear, and on the outboard journey aboard the same craft no incidents were reported.
Eyewitnesses (including a Mr Russell) state that at 3:05 pm the Avro Tudor was approaching runway 28 of Llandow aerodrome at an abnormally low altitude with the undercarriage down. The pilot attempted to correct the descent by increasing the power of the engines and brought the plane up. The aircraft rose steeply to 100 m (300 ft) attaining a nose-up attitude of 35 degrees to the vertical, and then the aircraft stalled.
Star Girl plummeted towards the ground with the right wingtip hitting the ground first, followed in turn by the plane's nose and left wing, which separated from the fuselage when it made contact. The plane turned clockwise and finally came to a rest near a field beside Park Farm close to the small hamlet of Sigingstone (or Sigginstone). There was no explosion on impact or ground fire.
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Wikipedia