As one of four extended-selection, quad-engine, initially-technology jetliners, together with the Boeing 707, the McDonnell-Douglas DC-8, and the Ilyushin Il-62, the Vickers VC10 was 1 of only two to attribute uninterrupted wings, aft-mounted Rolls Royce Conway turbofans, and a t-tail to optimize its quick-area, superior-lift effectiveness.
Even though it was praised by travellers and crew users alike, its over weight, overengineered design, developed in each small-fuselage Typical and extensive-fuselage Super versions, confined its sales to just 54 aircraft, including people to the Royal Air Power, and rendered it a technological results, but a economic failure.
This review appears to be like at its brief accident heritage.
Other than preliminary stall and drag deficiencies encountered for the duration of the VC10’s flight take a look at plan, the style experienced couple airframe and powerplant failures, reflecting both of those its top-quality engineering and the relatively couple in operation.
Initial teething problems, having said that, surfaced in December of 1964 when an undercarriage warning gentle illuminated on a BOAC Normal 1101 while it executed its approach to Manchester. While it landed properly immediately after the landing gear was gravity-prolonged, the anomaly was determined as the equipment-down lock, which was subsequently transformed. The real culprit, on the other hand, would afterwards surface.
The exact same plane flashed the exact warning three months later when it was approaching Jan Smuts Intercontinental Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. Even with many extension tries, it would not lock in area. For the duration of its ensuing circle to burn off gasoline and reduce its fire threat immediately after landing, the crew eventually succeeded in decreasing the gear and landed without having incident.
Its additional permanent grounding, for the duration of which time engineers ended up flown in to explore the actual snag, led to the discovery that a corroded spindle experienced been powering the incident and it was suggested that greater corrosion safety be subsequently utilized. Whilst all VC10 operators were being recommended of the locate, no further more incidents transpired.
An additional, whilst somewhat insignificant, incident happened on August 9, 1967 when a BOAC Tremendous 1151, enroute from Lima, Peru, to New York-JFK, with an intermediate cease in Jamaica, get rid of a four-by-eight-foot wing flap area, which traveled guiding the wing and then plunged to the floor, puncturing the roof of a property at 214 North Road in Manhasset Hills, Lengthy Island. There were neither injuries to all those in the household nor even awareness of individuals on board, leaving Flight 500 to safely land at 19:56 nearby time. Although the passengers disembarked from what they thought of a “plan” struggle, the incident attested to the aircraft’s design and style, since the absent flap did not even affect its carry during approach or touchdown.
Of far bigger get to was its September 9, 1970 aerial hijacking, together with that of a TWA Boeing 707 and a Swissair McDonnell-Douglas DC-8, carried out by the Well known Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or PLFP, to Jordan’s Dawson Area, history’s one, biggest-scale celebration of its sort. Considering the fact that the travellers had been authorized to go away the plane, there ended up no fatalities.
However, the kind endured two deadly incidents for the duration of the 15-year period in between 1964 and 1979.
The first of these occurred on November 20, 1969 with plane 5N-ABD operated by Nigeria Airways on a multi-sector flight from London to Lagos with intermediate stops in Rome and Kano. The plane itself, the initially output Regular VC10-1101, experienced originally been registered G-ARVA and had served BOAC for five several years, concerning 1964 and 1969. Nigeria Airways only operated it for two months and it had 18,431 hrs on its airframe at the time.
The crew was hardly devoid of encounter. Captain Val Moore, 56, had himself flown for BOAC on numerous notable piston and pure-jet forms, together with the Halton, the York, the Hermes, the Argonaut, the Comet 4, and the VC10. Of the 15,173 several hours in his logbook, 3,323 of them had been in command of that extremely Vickers style and design.
First Officer John Wallis, 30, had also flown the form with East African Airways for two-and-a-fifty percent a long time. Of his 3,500 several hours, 900 of them experienced been on the VC10.
Also in the cockpit were Flight Engineer George Albert Baker, 50, and Navigator Basil Payton, 49, the two of whom had been serving Nigeria Airways, but have been employed by British United.
The four crew customers operated all 3 sectors.
Flight WT 925 had departed London the prior night at 22:10, going through regimen operations to both of those Rome and Kano. But, before it remaining the latter town, the captain requested 30,000 kilos of additional fuel, fearing that civil unrest presently raging close to Lagos would preclude his landing and drive his Kano return.
Takeoff for the brief, 66-minute segment at 06:24 resulted in an approximated time of arrival (ETA) of 07:28.
At 07:11, or six minutes after the aircraft produced its first air visitors manage (ATC) get in touch with, it requested descent clearance from its existing 35,000-foot altitude to 14,000 feet, the latter to keep away from interference from a Lagos-departing Fokker F.27 Friendship turboprop. Soon after it visually verified and handed the Nigeria Airways quad-jet, the VC10 by itself was presented even more permission to descend and retain 5,000 feet.
Its subsequent request for a straight-in strategy to Runway 19 was granted, while it was needed to report reaching 2,200 toes.
Misunderstanding of area weather conditions problems looks to have played a vital element in the function. Though the airport was underneath very clear skies, the region encompassing it was not. Thick fog, from treetop degree to some 2,000 feet, blanketed the ground one mile north of it, and poor visibility rose as substantial as 5,000 ft.
Descending via 2,200 feet at 07:29, the VC10 complied with its past reporting request and the tower asked it to do so yet again when it achieved a stage 6 miles from landing. No even further transmissions were being gained.
Shortly just after the 08:05 departure of two Nigeria Air Power aircraft from Lagos, they noticed smoke mounting as a result of the clouds on the solution route to Runway 19.
Practically in its final landing configuration, with 35 degrees of trailing edge flap, extended undercarriage, and a 6.7-diploma nose-up tailplane environment, aircraft 5N-ABD experienced brushed the treetops at 207 feet over the ground, shedding its amount two and 3 port wing flaps and remaining, most important undercarriage bogie. Just after yet another 350 ft, it missing its total port wing.
Careening through a few other trees above the future 250 feet, it missing additional of its construction-in this scenario, the quantity two, three, and four correct wing flap panels. Soon after masking a 1,700-foot distance from its initial tree-strike, it impacted the floor in a nose-up, remaining-wing-down profile, dropping its tail and four aft-mounted engines, right before the remainder of the aircraft arrived to relaxation 300 toes beyond this point.
Gasoline ruptured from the tanks ignited a survivorless fire.
Though the aircraft was not outfitted with a flight facts recorder and no definitive cause in the sequence of situations that led to the aircraft’s destruction was established, it evidently failed to obvious obstructions in its approach route and keep track of its altitude and sink price during what was, but need to not have been, a visual solution for the duration of instrumental meteorological problems (IMC) at the finish of a tri-sector superior flight, which put the crew at the fringes of its lawful obligation time.
The 2nd lethal VC10 accident occurred three several years afterwards, on April 18, 1972, when a Super 1154, registered 5X-UNA with 18,586 hrs on its airframe, crashed in the course of takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Functioning East African Airways Flight EC 720 to Rome and eventually to London, it experienced been granted its get started-up clearance at 09:21 and subsequently adopted the japanese taxiway to Runway 07. The winds, it had been advised, had been out of variable directions at five knots.
Cleared for takeoff at 09:38:40, it executed its acceleration roll. But, just just before achieving its V1 velocity, or the minute at which its takeoff possibly experienced to be aborted or ongoing, it plowed as a result of a steel jacking pad get rid of by an earlier-departing Cessna 185 with its nose wheel, resulting in the puncture of the proper of its two tires. The cockpit crew seasoned the collision as equally a loud bang and a vibration.
The nose briefly rose, but resettled to the ground.
Aborting the takeoff, the captain pulled the throttles back again to the idle placement and engaged the thrust reversers, whilst the t-tailed quad-jet veered a bit to the ideal and a person of its most important gear tires burst. Now veering to the left, it strike an embankment, leading to the port wing to momentarily rise and then intercept Runway 25’s metal lattice solution mild stanchion.
The effect, rupturing the 1A fuel tank, unleashed a cascade of igniting liquid as the plane dropped 10.6 meters to the decreased ground over and above the runway and broke up. Eight of the 11 crew users and 35 of the 96 travellers perished.
In accordance to the investigation report, “The incident was due to a partial loss of braking hard work arising from incorrect re-assembly of aspect of the braking program, as a outcome of which the aircraft could not be stopped in just the unexpected emergency length remaining adhering to a appropriately executed abandoned takeoff procedure.”
