ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 244946
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| Date: | Sunday 15 July 1979 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Piper PA-25-260 Pawnee C |
| Owner/operator: | Harvest Air Ltd |
| Registration: | G-BCGO |
| MSN: | 25-4551 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1968 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Whitecliff Bay, between Sandown and Bembridge, Isle of Wight -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Bembridge, Isle of Wight (EGHJ) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
On 15 July 1979 Piper Pawnee G-BCGO of Harvest Air was engaged in oil dispersal spraying operation over Sandown Bay when it ditched in Whitecliff Bay, between Sandown and Bembridge. The only account of the incident, which I've been able to find, is the caption to a photograph of the aeroplane on the Air-Britain website (see link #4). It says that G-BCGO 'ditched in Whitecliff Bay at the very tip of the white cliffs'.
The caption goes on to say that the wheels of the Pawnee hit underwater rocks, which caused it to turn over. However its not clear whether it hit those rocks whilst flying (if so, extremely low), and this caused it to ditch, or whether something had necessitated the pilot of the Pawnee making a forced landing on the water and it was in the course of that his undercarriage impacted the submarine rocks.
The account goes on to say that the pilot was trapped in the cockpit, which had submersed, and a fisherman jumped into the sea to rescue him. It goes on to say that the Pawnee was recovered from the sea to the beach at Whitecliff Bay, where it remained (presumably above the high tide line) until it was taken away.
A contemporary local newspaper report provides further details of the incident, and names the pilot, who was rescued and survived:
"Birmingham Daily Post - Monday 16 July 1979
Tanker righted
The capsized 990-ton tanker Tarpenbeck, which turned over after a Channel collision nearly four weeks ago, was finally righted yesterday by a floating crane. Now, the Dutch experts will pump out the last 160 tons of heavy lubricating oil still in the tanker. Most of her original cargo of 1,600 tons of oil had already been pumped out.
A light plane crashed into the sea during the anti-pollution back-up operation for the Tarpenbeck. Pilot Mr John Churchill, from Sussex, had just finished spraying oil which escaped as the tanker was righted when the engine of his Piper Pawnee cut out and he ditched in shallow water. He was a few hundred yards off a crowded beach at Whitecliff Bay near Sandown Bay."
Presumably the Pawnee was damaged beyond repair, in consequence of the impact damage and/or salt water damage, as its registration was cancelled by the CAA on 4 September 1979 as 'destroyed'.
Whitecliff Bay is a sandy bay near Foreland which is the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight, England, about two miles south-west of Bembridge and just to the north of Culver Down. The bay has a shoreline of around three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) and has a popular sandy shingle beach which is over half a mile long. Location is at approximate coordinates 50°40′12″N 1°05′49″W
G-BCGO was built in 1968, and was originally US Registered as N4782Y from 1968 to 31 May 1974. It became G-BGCO on 12 June 1974.
Sources:
1. Birmingham Daily Post - Monday 16 July 1979
2. CAA: https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-BCGO.pdf
3. https://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=17511.0
4. G-BGCO at Stapleford Tawney (EGSG) 22-9-1974: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1383093
5. https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/G-BCGO.html
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitecliff_Bay
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Nov-2020 20:49 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 16-Nov-2020 20:52 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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