G-ALHG Canadair
C.4
Argonaut
(c/n 153)
Another Canadair photograph of an
Argonaut, pre-delivery, taken, presumably, over the Lac
St.
Pierre area on the St. Lawrence River just downstream from the plant at
Dorval. It was
sold to Derby Airways in 1961 and passed to British Midland three years
later. On 4 June
1967, G-ALHG was inbound to Manchester International Airport from Palma
de Mallorca on
an ILS approach to runway 24. ATC reported the
aircraft to be left of the centreline. The crew
initiated a right turn, during which the number 4 engine lost power,
followed by the number 3
engine.
The crew elected to overshoot and continued a full right turn during
which the aircraft
lost
altitude. The left wing struck a 3-storey building and was ripped
off, causing the aircraft to
crash in a
small, relatively open space near tall blocks of flats and other
buildings. 72 of the 84
souls on
boartd were killed. During the investigation it was ascertained
that both engines had
suffered
fuel starvation probably through an inadvertent crossfeed of fuel
during the flight.