British European Airways Flight S200P


British European Airways Flight S200P was a short-haul flight from London-Northolt Airport to Glasgow-Renfrew Airport, Scotland. On 21 April 1948, while on approach to Renfrew, a Vickers VC.1 Viking, registration G-AIVE, crashed into Irish Law Mountain in North Ayrshire, Scotland. No one died in the accident, but 13 of the 20 passengers and crew were injured, and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Accident

Flight S200P had taken off at 18:09 GMT. After a 1-hour flight, air traffic control at Glasgow-Renfrew cleared it for a standard beam approach into the airport. The last radio contact was at 20:01, when the crew requested confirmation that the outer marker was operative. As the aircraft neared the airport, it hit a hill nose-first and broke into 3 parts; the engine and the left wing also broke off. Although the plane burst into flames, all 20 passengers and crew managed to escape, and all survived. Thirteen people were injured in the accident.

Cause

An investigation into the crash found the cause to be pilot error. Failure to receive the outer marker beacon signal was a contributory factor.

Crash site today

Some remnants of G-AIVE remain on the hill at Irish Law Mountain, including the engines, landing gear, and parts of the left and right wings.