Invicta International Airlines Flight 435
Encyclopedia
On 10 April 1973 Invicta International Airways Flight 435 was a Vickers Vanguard 952
, flying from Bristol
Lulsgate
to Basle-Mulhouse that ploughed into a snowy, forested hillside near Hochwald
, Switzerland. It somersault
ed and broke up, killing 108 with 37 survivors. Many of the 139 passengers on the charter flight were women—members of the Axbridge Ladies Guild—from the Somerset, England villages of Axbridge
, Cheddar
, Winscombe
and Congresbury
. The accident left 55 children motherless.
Pilot Anthony Dorman became disoriented, misidentifying two radio beacons and missing another. When co-pilot Ivor Terry took over, his final approach was based on the wrong beacon and the aircraft crashed into the hillside.
Dorman had previously been suspended from the Canadian Air Force for lack of ability, and had failed his UK instrument flying rating eight times.
As a result of the crash tougher regulations were introduced in the UK.
Despite the conclusions of the official Swiss report, it has been argued that the pilots may not have been entirely to blame and there is a possibility that they were lured to destruction by "ghost" beacon transmissions caused by electric power lines.
Vickers Vanguard
The Vickers Type 950 Vanguard was a British short/medium-range turboprop airliner introduced in 1959 by Vickers-Armstrongs, a development of their successful Viscount design with considerably more internal room. The Vanguard was introduced just before the first of the large jet-powered airliners,...
, flying from Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
Lulsgate
Lulsgate
Lulsgate is a location in North Somerset. The term could be used to refer to any of the following:* Bristol International Airport, which was formerly known as Lulsgate Airport* the Lulsgate plateau, on which the airport stands...
to Basle-Mulhouse that ploughed into a snowy, forested hillside near Hochwald
Hochwald, Switzerland
Hochwald is a municipality in the district of Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. Hochwald means "high forest".-Geography:Hochwald has an area, , of . Of this area, or 45.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 44.8% is forested...
, Switzerland. It somersault
Somersault
A somersault is an acrobatic exercise in which a person does a full 360° flip, moving the feet over the head. A somersault can be performed either forwards, backwards, or sideways and can be executed in the air or on the ground...
ed and broke up, killing 108 with 37 survivors. Many of the 139 passengers on the charter flight were women—members of the Axbridge Ladies Guild—from the Somerset, England villages of Axbridge
Axbridge
Axbridge is a town in Somerset, England, situated in the Sedgemoor district on the River Axe, near the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The town population according to the 2001 census was 2,024.-History:...
, Cheddar
Cheddar
Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, north-west of Wells. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross...
, Winscombe
Winscombe
Winscombe is a village in North Somerset, England, close to the settlements of Axbridge and Cheddar, on the western edge of the Mendip Hills, south-east of Weston-super-Mare and south-west of Bristol...
and Congresbury
Congresbury
Congresbury is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated in the Unitary authority of North Somerset, and in 2001 had a population of 3,400. It lies on the A370, roughly equidistant between Junction 21 of the M5 and Bristol Airport, approximately south of Bristol city centre,...
. The accident left 55 children motherless.
Pilot Anthony Dorman became disoriented, misidentifying two radio beacons and missing another. When co-pilot Ivor Terry took over, his final approach was based on the wrong beacon and the aircraft crashed into the hillside.
Dorman had previously been suspended from the Canadian Air Force for lack of ability, and had failed his UK instrument flying rating eight times.
As a result of the crash tougher regulations were introduced in the UK.
Despite the conclusions of the official Swiss report, it has been argued that the pilots may not have been entirely to blame and there is a possibility that they were lured to destruction by "ghost" beacon transmissions caused by electric power lines.