ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 18922
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| Date: | Saturday 29 November 1975 |
| Time: | 21:29 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-23-250 Turbo Aztec D |
| Owner/operator: | Grand Prix (Bahamas) Ltd |
| Registration: | N6645Y |
| MSN: | 27-3960 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Arkley golf course, Arkley, Barnet, Hertfordshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Marseille, France |
| Elstree Airfield, Elstree, Herfordshire | |
| Investigating agency: | AIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
"The accident occurred as the pilot was attempting a visual contact approach at night into Elstree aerodrome with a reported visibility of 800 metres . After radar advisory service had positioned the aircraft 4 nautical miles (nm) east of the runway with further descent at the pilot's discretion he was heard to call Elstree tower and give his position as 'finals.' The aircraft subsequently collided with trees and crashed 3 nm (5 .6 km) from touchdown of runway 27 . All six occupants were killed.
The report concludes that it was not possible to establish the exact cause of the accident but the possibility that the pilot underestimated his range from the airfield and in consequence descended prematurely in conditions of thick fog cannot be excluded."
Among the six occupants killed was Graham Hill, ex-Formula One World Champion in 1962 and 1968, who retired from racing in 1975 to run his own F1 team. The crash also resulted in the deaths of team manager Ray Brimble, mechanics Tony Alcock and Terry Richards, up-and-coming driver Tony Brise and designer Andy Smallman; all from the Embassy Hill team.
Note that, while the AAIB Report into the accident is readily available on line (see link #2), the File at the National Archives at Kew (File AVIA 101/758/2 - see link #1) is closed for 100 years, until January 1 2076.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 101/758/2: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9241843
2. AAIB: http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/14-1976%20N6645Y.pdf
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Hill#Death
4. FAA US Registration: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=6645Y&x=-797&y=-543
5. http://planecrashinfo.com/famous1970s.htm
6. https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/328868-graham-hill-crash-what-verdict.html
Images:
26 May 1971 at Kidlington; (c) Bob J Hobbs/NA3T
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-May-2008 11:10 | ASN archive | Added |
| 29-May-2013 19:24 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 23-Jun-2013 16:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Location, Source] |
| 23-Mar-2015 20:13 | adrianblakey | Updated [Narrative] |
| 23-Jun-2016 14:24 | cv-990 | Updated [Narrative] |
| 31-Dec-2017 08:02 | Anon. | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
| 27-Jul-2019 18:39 | harro | Updated [Photo, Accident report, ] |
| 27-Jul-2019 18:40 | harro | Updated [Source, Accident report, ] |
| 24-Nov-2020 23:08 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Accident report] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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