Listed
here are a number of miscellaneous incidents involving Comets - some of which
are not covered elsewhere in the book whereas others are referred to only
briefly. They are arranged in chronological order for ease of reference.
1959
April
9th BOAC Comet 4 G-APDF
'DF
was forced to make an emergency landing after takeoff from Beirut International
Airport. Most of the damage sustained was to the wing structure and around the
main undercarriage wheel-well and occurred because the inner rear tyre burst.
This
unusual occurrence was attributed to the overheating of the brakes during a
previous takeoff attempt only minutes before. The previous attempt had to be
abandoned because Capt. Beauchamp suspected 'over-speeding' of no.2 engine.
Having checked the condition of number 2 engine, which was found to be OK,
eleven minutes later the second takeoff was made without incident.
However
some 9 minutes into the flight the tyre burst causing damage to the wing and
adversely affecting controllability. The captain decided to return to the
airport immediately and, because the landing was over weight, four more tyre
burst on touchdown and a fire started in the main-gear assemblies. Fortunately
the crew of nine were unhurt, as were the 64 passengers who continued their
journey to London in a relief Comet.
June
7th BOAC Comet 4
over-ran
the end of the runway when landing at Montevideo. No one was injured and no
damage was found.
June
8th BOAC Comet 4 G-APDA.
'DA
was involved in an accident which resulted, subsequently, in a recommendation
that the approach speed of Comets be increased by 5 knots.
The
Official Report concluded: 'The report of the Director of Aeronautical
Inspection C.A.D. on the accident of BOAC G-APDA at Calcutta's Dum Dum Airport
on June 8th was accepted by the Government.'
The
report said that the aeroplane was operating the Tokyo - London service - as
flight SP 931 - and was on approach to the airport with the aid of I.L.S. The
early stage of the approach to runway 19L proceeded without incident, however
turbulence was encountered necessitating increased power to stabilise the
fluctuating airspeed at the recommended figure. The increased power however was
applied too late with the result that there was a sudden sinking of the aircraft
and an impact with trees could not be avoided. Thereafter partial loss of
lateral control was experienced as considerable damage had been caused to the
flaps. Missed approach procedure was then successfully carried out. The next
approach was made to runway 01R. The aircraft was then being flown by visual
reference. During this approach the aircraft again impacted the trees as due
allowance was not made for the higher stalling speed of the damaged aircraft.
Missed
approach procedure was again initiated and the aircraft responded well. Further
damage had, however, been sustained. A circuit was executed and the landing,
during the third attempt, was successful but the damaged aircraft failed to pull
up within the available space on the wet runway because of the higher speeds
(at) which the approach had to be made. No injury was sustained by the 44
passengers or nine members of the crew on board. The aircraft was, however,
substantially damaged.
The
report concluded that the accident was attributed to an error of judgement on
the part of the flying crew in not applying increased power when approaching to
land in turbulent conditions. The subsequent power increase was applied too late
to prevent the aircraft, which was being flown at a speed below the speed
recommended for turbulent conditions, from sinking and striking trees.'
June
21st BOAC Comet 4 G-APDB
'DB,
was one of the Corporations first two Comets. During its final approach to
Idlewild Airport with a 'displaced threshold' (i.e. off track), it struck a
10-12ft
high blast-fence which was located 65ft short of the beginning of the paved area
of the runway. Strangely the landing was in daylight and perfect visibility.
Damage
was caused to the Comets flaps and main undercarriage but the aircraft landed
safely and there were no injuries to any of the 33 passengers or crew of ten.
BOAC's own investigation attributed the accident to pilot error, but it was
acknowledged that a contributing cause was a sudden down draught which was of
unexpected severity.
August
27th Aerolineas Argentinas Comet 4 LV-AHP
LV-AHP
was badly damaged when it made a forced landing in bad weather coming down 5½
miles from the threshold while on an instrument approach. The aircraft was
approaching Asuncion, Paraguay and was carrying 54 passengers and a crew of
eleven. It was on a scheduled flight from Buenos Aires to New York. There were
two fatalities - Capt. S.J. Llense - one of A.A's most experienced Pilots - was
killed in the impact and an elderly woman passenger died of shock.
Initially
the possibility of salvage was discussed but the wings and nose were reported to
be badly damaged. Shortly after the accident Snr. Josč Guiraldes, President of
Aerolineas, said, "the accident the cause of which is not yet known could
have been much worse but for the ruggedness of the Comet and the skill of the
pilot."
No
official report was issued on this accident though.
September
4th BOAC Comet 4
Another
Comet suffered a burst tyre just after takeoff from Beirut International
Airport. Further damage was sustained to the undercarriage during the emergency
landing.
December
23rd BOAC Comet 4 G-APDL
This
incident happened while 'DL was on a flight from London and was approaching
Ciampino Airport at Rome. The crew experienced difficulty obtaining reliable ADF
(Automatic Direction Finding) indicators from the terminal. Bearings from a MF
non-direction beacon were therefore used to assist in positioning the aircraft
on its approach. The aeroplane finally touched down but unfortunately with it's
gear retracted! The weather was cloudy at the time. BOAC's investigation
attributed the accident to pilot error - albeit with some distraction caused by
the failure to locate the ADF.
BOAC
staff were assisted by de Havilland's service and production engineers and
together they succeeded in repairing the damaged aircraft in only 45 days - it
was a remarkable achievement credited, in no small part, to the strength of the
Comet's airframe. The main damage was found to be to the centre section and wing
stubs and, to a lesser extent, there was also damage to the fuselage. The
undercarriage doors, engine cowling doors and inner flaps were all replaced. All
the engines were changed as a precautionary measure because it was not possible
to examine them for shock-loading damage on-site.
1960
February
20th Aerolineas Argentina Comet 4
LV-AHO
'Lucero de la Tarde'. This aircraft was on a training flight. On landing at Ezeira, Buenos Aires
a heavy impact with the runway forced the main gear into the wing
structure, AHO bounced and came to rest a few hundred feet down the runway. This
resulted in the total loss of the aircraft.
March
14th BOAC Comet 4 G-APDS
On
the night of the 14th March 'DS was damaged after hitting high ground
whilst circling on its final approach to land at Barajas Airport, Madrid.
The
impact took place about two miles from runway 23 at which point the aircraft
struck the top of a ridge - known locally as Pico del Guarda and is situated in
the Paracuellos Hills - 345ft above airport level. In the impact damage was
sustained to both main bogie assemblies and the port pod tank was torn off.
Although engines number 2 & 3 were almost completely inoperative the
aircraft continued to fly for another 13 minutes and made an I.L.S. approach to
runway 33 landing on the nosewheel and two main undercarriage stumps -
miraculously the pilot made a perfect touchdown and there were no injuries to
those onboard.
Needles
to say there was extensive damage to the Comet. The left-hand gear strut was
completely broken off at wing level, and the right strut broken off at a point
5ft below the wing. The left flap was partly torn off, and the right flap was
partly torn loose. The left wing fuel tank was torn off and left the wing-tip
extensively damaged. The upper proportion of left exhaust nozzle was completely
destroyed. The Spanish Director General of Civil Aviation, whose report was
published in Nov. 1960, gave the probable cause as 'while approaching the
airport the aircraft was flown at an altitude lower than the spot height
indicating the position of the Paracuellos Hills.' Succinct!!!!
August
22nd BOAC Comet 4
At
Cairo: The aircrafts port main undercarriage wheel entered a excavation in the
runway during its take-off run. There was no serious damage to the aircraft.
December
24th United Arab Airlines Comet 4C
At
Benina the aircraft over-ran on landing and its nose-wheel collapsed.
1961
January 25th BOAC Comet 4 G-APDM
'DM was operating BOAC's London - Johannesburg via Rome, Khartoum, Nairobi
and Salisbury. Captained by R. E. Harwood the aircraft was presumed to be on
approach to Fiumicino Airport, Rome but was actually some 60 miles from where it
should have been when at between 20.33 and 20.25 hours it struck treetops at
Case Nuove, San Martino in Viterbo, Italy. The impact point was at a height of
1,740 ft.
Damage sustained: one flap was sheared in two places and branches of a tree
were found in the compressor inlets of three engines. Despite this damage the
Comet flew on and was successfully landed. None of the 44 passengers (including
Mr Duncan Sands former Minister of Aviation) or crew were hurt.
The Italian investigation finally issued a report and concluded that the
cause of the accident could be attributed to a number of factors. For example
there had not been any crew familiarization flights to what was a new airport
(open for only 10 days at the time of the accident), further the aircraft did
not fly according to the correct approach chart, it seems that two radio
compasses were tuned to the same frequency thus any error of the readings would
not be obvious, and these erroneous readings were acted upon. The radio
compasses had been used without recourse to external observations and
measurement, there was a lack of communication by the co-pilot and at the same
time interference from a transmitter in the Prague area with correct the radio
beacon.
In other words, despite compounding circumstances, the investigators found
that the accident was attributable to pilot error. The crew were disciplined and
the captain deprived of seniority.
November 23rd Aerolineas Argentinas. Comet 4 LV-AHR
'Arco Iris' formerly named 'Alborada'. This aircraft crashed about 1 mile
from Viracopas Airport, Sao Paulo when it hit trees shortly after take-off. It
was a total loss but no report was issued into the accident.
December 21st BEA Comet 4B
G-ARJM
'JM was BEA's first Comet loss. It crashed into the suburb of Esenboga after
takeoff from Ankara Airport in Turkey en route for Nicosia. On hitting the
ground the plane burst into flames.
The crew of seven was led by Capt. K.J. Ruddlesdin - ex-RAF and who joined
BEA in 1946 - all were killed along with 20 of the 27 passengers. The seven
non-fatalities were thrown clear of the wreckage - a miraculous escape.
An Investigation team from the Turkish aviation authority found that the
disaster had been caused by the direction/horizon indicator pitch pointer being
obstructed. This led to the Captain setting for too steep a climb and as a
result stalled the aeroplane. At this point the aircraft had only achieved some
400 feet (122m) in height.
In January 1963 Ministry of Aviation published a report on the Turkish
Investigating Commissions investigation. It concluded that a loose screw jammed
the pitch pointer of the director horizon and led the Captain to apply much more
elevator than was required for the normal climb attitude of 20° with the result
that an angle of about 45° was reached. The aircraft stalled at a height of
about 450ft. and sank to the runway and crashed in level attitude. The aircraft
was almost completely destroyed by impact and fire. 27 of the 34 people onboard
were killed. Interestingly the report concluded too that the three pilots might
have survived if they had used the shoulder straps of their safety harnesses.
December 27th U.A.A. Comet 4C
At Geneva this aircraft was reported to have struck snow bank during its
landing run
1962
May 13th Olympic Airways Comet 4B
The 4B veered off the runway on landing. The aircraft was damaged but there
is no report on how extensive this was.
July 19th United Arab Airlines Comet 4C.
SU-AMW
SU-AMW crashed 100 Kms N/E of Bangkok into jungle on the Khao Yai Mountain,
Thailand. It was some 50 miles (80Km) from the airport when it hit high ground
during a let-down in a heavy rainstorm and at night. 18 passenger and a crew of
eight were lost. There was no official report.
August 3rd BOAC Comet 4 G-APDM
'DM made a belly landing at Stansted. It was repaired and put back into
service.
1963
March 20th King Saud Comet 4C SA-R-7
SA-R-7 crashed on the slopes of Monte Matto in the Italian Alps while letting
down at night. The cause was to remain a mystery and months after the accident
no light had been shed on the events leading up to it. Early reports, attributed
to King Saud, indicated that the aircraft was sabotaged. These reports were
later denied.
The Comet was commanded by
John Hanslip, of de Havilland, and was on a
flight from Geneva to Nice with members of the King's retinue. It had taken off
from Geneva at 02.55 hours (local time) and was in contact with Nice tower at
03.22. It was expected to land 8 minutes later. Two other members of the crew of
nine were also de Havilland employees - Kenneth Rouse, flight engineer, and Gordon Bryan, service engineer. Ironically none of the de Havilland staff had
to be on the flight - all had volunteered at the last minute to do so.
Early reports said the wreckage had been sighted a few miles inside the
Italian frontier near the village of Entraque and that all onboard had been
killed. Italian attempts to reach the wreckage had been hampered by bad weather.
In May 1963 it was reported that part of the tail of King Saud's was found in
snow on April 28th in the Italian Alps at Valleta about 2 miles from
Terme de Valdiere, near the French boarder. It was believed that the rest of the
wreckage was under 30 foot of snow - it having been covered by an avalanche
after the crash.
July 28th United Arab Airlines Comet 4C SU-ALD
15 miles from Bombay SU-ALD crashed into sea when on night approach to the
airport in heavy, turbulent bad weather. 55 passengers and the crew of eight were lost. The Comet
was en route from Bangkok to Bombay.
September 12th U.A.A. Comet 4C SU-ALM
SU-ALM struck the runway lights when coming into land at Bengazi Airport on
September 12th. There was damage to the flap and number one fuel tank
and to the belly of the aircraft. There were no injuries.
