British European Airways Flight 411

British European Airways Flight 411 crashed on approach to Manchester Airport after a flight from Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport on 14 March 1957 and hit a house in Wythenshawe. All on board, 20 passengers and crew, died in the crash as did two people in the house. The aircraft involved was a Vickers Viscount registration G-ALWE operated by British European Airways. The cause of the crash was metal fatigue in flaps causing loss of control.

British European Airways Flight 411

Wreckage of the BEA Viscount amid damaged houses on Shadowmoss Road on 14 March 1957
Occurrence
Date	14 March 1957 (1957-03-14)
Summary	Loss of control caused by metal fatigue in flaps
Site	Wythenshawe, Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Total fatalities	22
Aircraft
BEA Vickers Viscount G-ALWE, pictured at Manchester-Ringway Airport in 1953
Aircraft type	Vickers Viscount
Operator	British European Airways
Registration	G-ALWE
Flight origin	Schiphol International Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Destination	Manchester Airport, England
Passengers	15
Crew	5
Fatalities	20
Survivors	0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities	2

Aircraft

G-ALWE, RMA Discovery, was the first Viscount 701 type to be manufactured by Vickers in 1952.

Final flight

Grave of Winifred and David Wilding in Southern Cemetery, Manchester, the occupants of the house killed in the crash

Flight 411 took off from Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport. On board were 15 passengers and five crew members. At approximately 1.40pm GMT, 90 minutes after departure, flight 411 was cleared for approach into Manchester Airport. In low cloud and following a ground controlled approach the flight crew lowered the landing gear and turned into their final approach under visual control. One mile short of the runway eyewitnesses saw the aircraft turn into a shallow right descending turn with a steep bank angle. At 1.46pm the Viscount's right wing hit the ground and the rest of the plane broke up bursting into flames. It crashed into a house 85 yards beyond the impact point at the junction of Shadowmoss Road and Ringway in Wythenshawe. All 20 passengers and crew on the aircraft died in the crash and two occupants of the house also died.^[1][2][3]

A surviving occupant of the house that was destroyed was a former airport fireman at Ringway Airport, Wally Wilding. In the year before the crash, Wilding had launched a petition expressing concerns about the dangers of low-flying aircraft in the area. His wife and infant son both lost their lives in the crash.^[1][4][5]

Emergency service response

Fire, police and ambulance services arrived at the site within minutes of the crash. The fire was put out rapidly but by this time all the casualties had already happened.

Investigation

The investigation into the crash of Flight 411 found that the probable cause of the crash was metal fatigue in the bottom bolt securing the starboard wing number 2 flap unit. The aileron locked when number 2 flap unit became detached from the wing trailing edge.^[2][6]

Aftermath

The investigation made several recommendations:-

1. That reliance on a single bolt in tension for the support of a primary structure should be avoided if possible.
2. That where such bolts are used an ample margin of strength should be allowed (having regard to the material of which the bolt is made) so as to ensure that fatigue will not develop at any time in the life of the bolt.
3. That where such bolts are used the seating of the bolt and nut should be carefully checked.

References

• Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
• Airliners.net entry on G-ALWE

Citations

1. Swettenham, Lee (14 March 2017). "The day a plane crashed into a Wythenshawe estate". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
2. Woodley, Charles (1 January 2006). The History of British European Airways. Casemate Publishers. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-84415-186-8. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
3. Brown, Peter C. (15 February 2017). Manchester Airport Through Time. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-4456-6391-3. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
4. "Viscount Hit ringway Homes: 24 Feared Dead". Manchester Evening News. 14 March 1957. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
5. Dickens, Steven (15 November 2015). Manchester in the Headlines. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-4456-4803-3. Retrieved 28 February 2022. (text of original 1957 news report)
6. Gero, David (29 May 2009). Aviation Disasters: The World's Major Civil Airliner Crashes Since 1950. History Press. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-0-7524-9992-5. Retrieved 28 February 2022.

External links

• Tragic Plane Crash on YouTube (British Movietone News, 1957)
• "No.14. British European Airways Vickers Viscount G-ALWE (Accident Report)" (PDF). ICAO Circular (56–AN/51). International Civil Aviation Organization: 76. 1957. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.

53°21′59″N 2°15′12″W