Incident Overview
Date: Thursday 17 March 1955
Aircraft Type: Vickers 616 Viking 1B
Owner/operator: Central African Airways
Registration Number: VP-YEX
Location: Salisbury-Belvedere –
ÿ Zimbabwe
Phase of Flight: Approach
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 28
Component Affected: Aircraft undercarriage (specifically the right-hand undercarriage) and engine.Aircraft undercarriage (specifically the right-hand undercarriage) and engine.
Category: Accident
A Vickers Viking aircraft, en route to Salisbury, experienced a significant accident due to a sudden and unexpected downpour of rain. The aircraft undershot the runway, resulting in severe damage to the right-hand undercarriage and engine. The aircraft ultimately came to rest approximately 300-400 yards further down the runway.A Vickers Viking aircraft, en route to Salisbury, experienced a significant accident due to a sudden and unexpected downpour of rain. The aircraft undershot the runway, resulting in severe damage to the right-hand undercarriage and engine. The aircraft ultimately came to rest approximately 300-400 yards further down the runway.
Description
Flight 120 took off from Jan Smuts Airport at 11:15 for a flight to Salisbury. The Vickers Viking undershot the Salisbury runway 27 on final approach, causing severe damage to the right hand undercarriage and (no. 2) engine. The aircraft finally came to rest 300-400yds further on. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The accident was neither caused by mechanical defect of the aircraft nor by the conduct of the pilot. It was caused by a combination of circumstances which can only be described as unusual and unexpected. Had the sudden downpour of rain not taken place at the critical moment, it is almost certain that no accident would have occurred.”
Primary Cause
Sudden downpour of rain during critical approach conditions.Sudden downpour of rain during critical approach conditions.Share on:
