Guardian angel
Aviation is
always challenging in many ways, and most of us have had some experience when
we think, wow that was close I won’t do that again, and from these, we learn,
and learn to look for threats to avoid, keeping us safe. However, whatever your
experience level sometimes fate takes a hand and you look back, thanking your
Guardian Angel, for making it back safe.
This is such
a story.
I first meet
Ed just before Christmas 1994 when he joined our airline and it was my job to guide
him through learning the ways of the Fokker27. Ed was from the light aircraft
air charter world but having previously spent many years in the RAF as a fast
jet pilot.
You would
not have realised his military background, as his manner being humble, but also
showing a fast mind and sharpness when in the cockpit. It was not long for me
to see that I was not going to have to work too hard with Ed.
Ed must have
in his previous flying life encountered his Guardian Angel before, but he never
spoke about them, and it was only one evening relaxing after several hours
battling the Fokker27 simulator that he spoke about one incident.
The aircraft
he was flying was a PA31 Navajo Chieftain being operated by an aerial survey
and public transport operator based in Birmingham.
Ed commenced
duty at Norwich early on the day of the accident. It was the first time that he
had flown that particular Navajo G-BMGH. He carried out an uneventful morning
service to Birmingham and went off on a split duty rest period from 0910 until
1530 hrs. He then returned to duty and commenced the return flight to Norwich,
during which seven passengers were boarded for the return flight to Norwich.
One passenger occupied the front right seat, alongside Ed.
The aircraft
took off at 1731 hrs, and climbed to flight level 50 for the transit. Ed
noticed that the right propeller rpm indication showed small fluctuations
throughout the flight, as he had also observed on his previous earlier flight
on the aircraft, but there was no yawing associated with these fluctuations.
The right propeller pitch lever was also difficult to move when attempting to
adjust for propeller synchronisation. The left propeller lever was therefore used
to synchronise the propellers. This had also been the method which he had
employed on the previous flight.
During the
en route climb, Ed had also noticed some vibration which manifested itself
through the control column and through the airframe as a high-frequency
vibration. He had not previously experienced such vibration on either this
aircraft or other aircraft of the same type and was not aware that it was
possibly indicative of a potentially dangerous defect on one of the propeller systems. The vibration
continued to the top of the climb, and for about the first 10 minutes into the
cruise before it ceased. Ed noted that the vibration
did not alter when he adjusted the engines and propellers to their cruise
settings at the top of the climb and did not appear to be associated with any
engine indications. The vibration did not recur during the remainder of the
flight.
Ed contacted
Marham Military Aerodrome Traffic Zone Radar for a Radar Information Service at
1757 hrs. At 1800 hrs, he informed Marham that he was commencing a slow descent
towards 3,000 feet, in order to be at that level on reaching the Norwich
non-directional radio beacon (NDB). Cruise power had been set up to this point,
which he recalled as being 31 inches of manifold pressure with slightly over
2,200 propeller rpm, giving an indicated airspeed of around 160 kt. As he
slowly retarded the throttles towards 25 inches of manifold pressure, in order
to commence the descent, there was a loud 'bang'. The aircraft rolled to the
right and entered a steep spiral dive or spin. Ed managed to regain control of
the aircraft after two rotations, initially by the use of full left rudder, eased
the aircraft out of the steep dive, and reduced the airspeed towards 100 kt, a
speed that he considered might be a reasonable glide speed. However, on
reaching around 120 kt, the aircraft again began to roll to the right, despite
the application of full opposite aileron and rudder. The dive angle was
therefore increased to give a minimum satisfactory gliding speed of around 130
kt, which gave a steep glide angle but enabled adequate control for
manoeuvring. The loud bang was caused by a blade, that had detached from the
right propeller, penetrating the aircraft's nose baggage bay and exiting
through the upper left fuselage structure. This blade then struck and removed
the front of the left propeller assembly. During the descent, Ed saw that the
right engine had separated, and there was damage to the nose of the aircraft,
and that the blades of the left propeller had stopped and were bent backwards
at their roots. He issued a hurried 'MAYDAY’ call at 18:34 hrs but did not
initially indicate the nature of the emergency. The Marham Zone Radar
controller immediately passed a heading to steer in order to reach the
airfield, which was some 6 nm southeast of the aircraft's position. A second
'MAYDAY' call was transmitted, advising that there had been double engine
failure. The noise and vibration levels were high, however, and prevented Ed
from hearing the reply transmissions from the Marham Zone Radar controller.
With the
aircraft under control, Ed entered a gentle turn to the left in order to
identify a suitable place in which to make a forced landing. The approach to
the most suitable field was obstructed by a line of high-tension power lines,
but in the limited time available and in the absence of a more suitable landing
site the turn was reversed towards the field, which was cultivated with a
standing green crop. Ed managed to manoeuvre the aircraft so as to avoid the
obstructions on the approach to the field. The landing gear was not extended
since there was no time to operate the hand pump, and both hands were required
to fly the aircraft despite the application of full left rudder and aileron
trim. A successful forced landing was carried out into the chosen field, Ed
has managed to level the aircraft off just above the surface and allowed the
speed to decay until the aircraft sank gently into the crop. The fuselage
touched down just as the right-wing began to drop with the loss of airspeed.
During the subsequent ground slide, the aircraft slewed to the left and
continued to slide sideways until it came to a halt. The aircraft remained
upright, intact, and there was no fire.
Ed had
attempted to reassure the passengers once control of the aircraft had been
regained in the dive, and had shouted "BRACE, BRACE" just prior to
the touchdown. He noted that the passengers had adopted the brace position that
had been covered during his pre-flight passenger safety briefing. All the
occupants quickly vacated the aircraft through both the rear left cabin door
and the right overwing hatch. There were no injuries, with the exception of
one passenger who subsequently complained of whiplash neck pains.
Ed returned
to the aircraft shortly afterwards and transmitted to the Marham Zone
controller that he had landed in a field and that the occupants were uninjured.
A Royal Air Force Tornado aircraft which was recovering to land at Marham was
requested to search the area in order to ascertain the exact location of the
landing site. The crew located the aircraft in the field some 5 minutes later.
Fate had
intervened, and what started as a normal routine flight changed to a near
disaster, however, all on board survived, due to Ed’s superb flying skills and
no doubt his Guardian Angel.
In May 1994
Captain E.W.R. Wyer was awarded the Queens Masters award for an outstanding act
of valour and service in the air.
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