Liverpool Aviation Accidents & Incidents (images replaced)

[Deleted]

An update on the Lingus DC-3. I was in touch with one of my ex-colleagues from Load Control (as we used to call ops in those days), and he suggested I contact Roy Corlett. Few on here will be familiar with that name, but he was the aviation correspondent (amongst other things) for the Daily Post and Echo, in the days when newspapers had proper reporters who were out and about regularly. Roy was known and respected by everyone at the airport and he knew his stuff. If he didn't know something, he'd ask. Anyway, I contacted him and he believes it was a cargo flight which overshot whichever runway when it was a wet night. Because there were no pax and no serious damage to the aircraft, there was no formal record, other than a note in the ATC log, apparently.

I think it may have been EI-AFC. Lingus used a couple of the DC-3s as freighters before they got rid of them in mid-1964. 'FC had a cargo door, which leads to my theory. There used to be a flight which went DUB-LPL-BHX-DUB, so it may well have been that flight.

[Samba]

Great memories that add to our airports history, thanks for posting.
Bob.

[viscount]

Certainly mid 1964 was when Aer Lingus disposed of their final Douglas Dakotas, which by then had been relegated to mainly freight work: scheduled, ad hoc and newspapers. Just 3 different Aer Lingus Dakotas used into Liverpool in 1964, with EI-ACE, EI-AFC and EI-AHG all visiting Liverpool within the first week of January. Fleet lists state that EI-AHG departed Aer Lingus in February '64, EI-AFC in June '64 and EI-ACE in July '64. Their last visits to Liverpool Airport not being recorded by Phil Butler as such matters were then not considered of note, unlike first visits. Basically, only the limited number of DC-3 variety of Dakota had just a passenger door, the huge majority were C-47 Dakotas and started life in WW II as military aircraft with a passenger door within a wide freight door. Between 1940 and 1964 Aer Lingus operated 19 different Dakota aircraft, of these only three were true DC-3s, but one of those was the last to be sold, EI-ACE.

Barry, you have been worrying away at this. Certainly the first half of 1964 date fits both the aircraft colour scheme and your use of colour film, while it being at night (no witnesses) and a freight flight (so no human interest angle) helps explain why the whole incident was never really recorded or remembered even in 'urban myth' form. Damage to the aircraft must have been light too, to make it worth while returning an aircraft to flight shortly before retiring the type from service.

'Garstonboy', are you thinking of changing your username to 'Rottweiler', to reflect your dogged determination to track down the details? Only joking. Good work.

[woody66]

I couldn't see a link to Aviation networks safety news regarding G-AMOE so here it is with some nice colour photos.

aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=145122

[viscount]

"Woody66". Thanks for that link. I rather suspect that when the original list of Liverpool related aviation accidents and incidents was published here in 2013 the listing on Aviation Safety Networks for the G-AMOE incident was very basic.

I wonder where they sourced those 4 stunning colour images? Absolutely excellent shots that make our decent b&w coverage look rather second rate.

Of the 5 sources quoted, just note where 3 of them link back to!!! Looking at that list reminds me that I tried contacting Garry Hillard who ran the Cambrianairways.org website a couple of weeks ago and the e-mail was returned. Subsequently I, sadly, find the website too is now just a dead link. A loss for all those with memories of Cambrian Airways.

[Deleted]

I plead guilty, but in mitigation I offer that I suffer from OCD! I think that we've gone as far as we can with this now and thanks to everyone for their help.

[Deleted]

Sept 1, 2021 9:53:29 GMT 1 viscount said:

"Woody66". Thanks for that link. I rather suspect that when the original list of Liverpool related aviation accidents and incidents was published here in 2013 there was no listing on Aviation Safety Networks for the G-AMOE incident.

I wonder where they sourced those 4 stunning colour images? Absolutely excellent shots that make our decent b&w coverage look rather second rate.

Of the 5 sources quoted, just note where 3 of them link back to!!!

The pictures were taken by Ken Fielding, who was very close by at the time and always had his camera with him at work. The irony of the incident for me was that they had to use the Eagle steps. Remember that both airlines were fierce competitors at the time!

[vanguard]

Got to be the first time British Eagle handled Cambrian 🤗

[vanguard]

Sept 1, 2021 8:52:52 GMT 1 woody66 said:

I couldn't see a link to Aviation networks safety news regarding G-AMOE so here it is with some nice colour photos.

aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=145122

The report says occupants 2,later it says there were 62 pax on board to also states it was in "push back" and it was dep to DUB,as far as I know it was taxiing with an senior engineer at the controls when the hydraulics failed on the steering,I think,as for push back only started at LPL when LJLA came in into operation,the actual date I do not know.😎

[viscount]

I have submitted a correction to ASN Data-base, I'll report back on any developments.




Added in on 'edit':

A rapid reply from ASN asking me to submit alternative text, rather than describing what is wrong with the entry.

[Deleted]

Sept 1, 2021 10:06:29 GMT 1 vanguard said:

Got to be the first time British Eagle handled Cambrian 🤗

lol!

[viscount]

Forced Landing: Bromborough, 14th May 1955.

Like the Canberra forced landing on the Wirral which featured in an earlier post on this thread, images of another Wirral forced landing that is just outside the context of this thread (accidents and incidents related to, or close to, Liverpool Airport) have come to my attention. The date is 14th May 1955, the aircraft a Bristol Beaufighter TT.10 of No.5 CAACU based at RAF Llanbedr en route from there to RAF Hooton. With an engine failure 3 miles from RAF Hooton airfield, the pilot made a forced landing on Bromborough Golf Course (although in the photos the ground looks more like farmland than manicured golf course).

Further reading: aviation-safety.net/wikibase/235896





There is no clue as to who supplied these two images as scans to Don Stephens, but they are well worthy of being shared on this thread.

[Deleted]

Whilst this thread is in revival mode, it is perhaps worth noting that following the opening of the Aldi store on the land formerly occupied by Thompson & Capper (Mothaks), someone has produced a clip on YouTube about the accident with Oscar Lima. As ever, there are a number of inaccuracies in the report, not least of which is the misquoted timings. The person who produced the clip has quoted from the ASN report without realising that all the times in their reports are in GMT.

Since most of those who were directly involved in the flight have by now shuffled off their mortal coils, I shall record for posterity the background to the whole incident.

During 1965 there were a series of strikes by mariners, which particularly affected the IOM ferry service. As a result, a huge volume of cargo built up at Speke, and a decision was taken to operate a flight specifically to deal with the backlog. Oscar Lima had been to the Channel Islands that morning and was not required again until later in the day. The seats were removed and a wide assortment of cargo was brought to the aircraft. I think the scheduled departure time was about 1530 (BST). The departure was delayed slightly because a large flagon of Coca-Cola concentrate fell off the forklift while being loaded and the fire brigade had to be called out to wash it away, because it was labelled corrosive (!). Anyone who has put a coin into a small amount of Coca-Cola will be familiar with that scenario!

The problems of loading such a strange and diverse cargo at Speke were as nothing compared with the problems when it arrived in the IOM. Whilst the IOM was used to dealing with the daily cargo flight of easy-to-handle newspapers and mail, the fact that they were dealing with bulky cargo, simply loaded onto the floor of the aircraft and netted, proved a considerable challenge, and they called us to say that the return flight would be delayed because of this. Once unloaded, there was no freight for Liverpool, so the aircraft would return empty. The STA of the return flight was 1700 BST, but owing to the problems of unloading, this now became 1800.

In fact, the accident took place at about 1815 BST, since as mentioned, the times quoted in ASN are GMT, rather than BST. I know this for 100%, because after finishing work, I had gone back to the airport to meet the crew, as they were Cardiff-based and due to return to Cardiff the following day; we were planning to have a few drinks together. They had been 'loaned' to us to carry out the increased summer schedule. I was standing on the apron by the corner of No. 2 hangar, talking to the marshaller and we could hear the sound of the engines. Suddenly, there was a 'crump' and smoke and flames began to emerge from the factory. We both realised what had happened. The marshaller ran to the terminal and pressed the 'crash' button and then ran into load control to tell them what had happened. There was initial confusion, because the fire brigade both at the airport and the fire station at Banks Road, were under the impression that the aircraft had crashed on the airfield.

Had the crash happened an hour or so earlier, the death toll would have been much higher, because the factory would have been full of people, so it was indeed fortunate that the aircraft was delayed in the IOM, though of course two members of staff who had stayed behind were also killed.

So let this be the definitive record for this unfortunate incident. I know that time can play tricks with one's memory, but this is one incident in my life that I remember perfectly and will never forget.

[davel]

I remember this well as I was working with the GPO at that time and we were sent to reconnect the telephones in the factory. I was amazed how little damage there was to be seen from outside but in the factory area was total destruction. The aircraft must have gone vertical into the building and that was why there was little to be seen outside. The workforce would have been decimated if they were working.

[viscount]

I'm sure I've related this tale before, but can't find it on this thread, so will repeat it here as it is a memory relevant to the G-AMOL crash into Mothaks factory. A nice little tale for a slow Sunday morning.

Some years later Ridgways Speciality Teas, who had moved into the rebuilt Mothaks factory contacted the Airport to find out more about the crash on their factory site. This was passed onto me, as at the time I regularly collected the M.A.S. mail from the Landings Office (which places the date as mid/late 1980s). This is long, long before days of the internet/forums/e-mails, so I went home found the MAS 'Flypast' with a summary of the official accident report and photocopied it at work (the school had just acquired its first photocopier) and wrote how I recalled the two-storey new factory being built around the walls of the single storey crash site. The old factory then demolished from inside. I left the reply with the Ridgways Teas gate security that evening. The following day after work, the 'Chief Scientist' (always struck me as a rather odd job title) at Ridgways called at my door after work to chat about the incident and deliver a bag of teas, mugs, and promotional items as a thank you for my rapid response. The whole quest for information started as having been told the aircraft had landed through the roof with little damage to the walls, they had been looking trying to find the evidence of the repairs and he was a little disappointed to find that the building involved had been subsequently demolished!

One of only a very few times I have been rewarded in any way for passing on aviation related information. Incidentally, I still have one of the mugs, got it out - and found I needed to correct my spelling of the company name, there being no 'e' in "Ridgways - Purveyors of Fine Speciality Teas since 1836".


While typing recalled that G-AMOL was a topic covered in the early days of the Forum, well before this thread. Searched and found the original time (Jan 2011) I aired this tale: derbosoft.proboards.com/thread/3863/1965-cambrian-crash-viscount-amol?page=1&scrollTo=36979. Twelve years apart and my two accounts are remarkably similar. The Don Stephens photos referred to in one of the posts are those shared on the previous page of this thread.