h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Dear Deke
I wonder whether you think that the excessive turbulence in the air had any thing to do with this tragic air crash?
It is so sad and recalled the early days of civil aviation in Central Africa.
Beavers, Dakotas and Vikings were the order of the day, and this particular aircraft had flown twice in that particular week. Both times with my late husband as co-pilot. On the third flight that week, the flight was to NAIROBI, capital of Kenya,on Saturday, returning to Salisbury - now Harare- the next day, Sunday.
On returning from Nairobi one of the wings of the Viking fell off and the Viking plummeted to the ground with the loss of all the passengers and crew.
All the Vikings in the world were immediately grounded and eventually the cause was determined to be metal fatigue - a totally new concept in civil aviation at that time - I seem to remember it was in the mid fifties
I wonder if the extra tempestuous conditions which are apparent in the area in which the aircraft was flying could possibly have caused the same fatal phenomenon to occur?
Kind regards
Christiane
AR81 Tuesday 2nd June 2009 18.10

Dear Deke, I was fascinated to hear on the BBC news tonight that they think that turbulence did have something - they think - to do with the dreadful crash.

I hope that someone goes back to 1955 onwards when the wing of the Viking fell off and the CAA Viking plummeted to earth killing everyone on board. There they could retrieve the aircraft and the pax and crew in it. Obviously in the sea this might not be so easy.
Tuesday 2nd June 2009 22.15Metal fatigue was the reason apparently.

Christiane
AR81


go well. =

Was this it?

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19530329-0

Hi Deke, Thank you for that magnificent find. I seemed to remember that there were 9 passengers on board and not 8. On of whom was a guy called Bill Ashby, the husband of a friend of mine.

I think that when it said that it departed from chileka airport that was one of the airports which the aircraft had landed at either to deposit passengers or to pick them up. Also vikings were very slow aircraft in comparison to present day speeds.

thank you for giving me all those details. It still give me the jitters. We had heard that a wing had fallen off. According to this report the whole aircraft just disintegrated.

Go well and again thank you.

~Christiane
AR80

If that is the event then the crash was caused by corrosion rather than metal fatigue. There is a subtle difference.

From the very little that you can glean from that report, initially the wing did come off after one of the wing spars (Booms?) failed outboard of the engine nacelle. At that point the a/c would have gone into an uncontrolled decent, breaking up as it went.

The cause is shown as corrosion, through that member, from its initial assembly. Clearly it deteriorated over its service life until it got to the point of failure when it experienced the turbulence on that particular day.

Metal fatigue came to the forefront a year or so later in 1954 when the new D H Comet airliners were lost. Although fatigue was well enough understood, it took a considerable effort by the RAE at Farnborough to locate the causes and better methods of avoiding the problem were introduced afterwards.

There is a lot of speculation going on in the press as to the cause of the loss of Air France a/c. No one is really going to know what caused it until the wreckage or the black-box is retrieved and brought back. As it hasn’t been located yet and is laying in some sixteen thousand feet of water, it probably won’t be any time soon.

All the best
Deke

Dear Deke,

Thank you for your knowledgeable insight into the plight of the Viking in 1953 in Tanganyka. It is interesting that you note that the term "metal fatigue" only came into prominence in 1994 with the loss of the Comet. I remember that aircraft going down as well but cannot recollect where. I must also stress that air travel in those days was done at at much lower altitude and as the weather over Africa could be very dicey with wretched thunder storms and hot air bouncing the aircraft all over the place, there was a great deal of strain on in the fuselage etc of the aircraft.

However, I would definitely state that the "reason" given to all of us, both crew and crew's families was that it was "metal fatigue" and that the wing had fallen off and obviously the poor old Viking plummeted down. Those investigating the crash were in a better postion then because the crash occurred on land and every part of the aeroplane was examined. There is nothing said in the report you sent me that all the Vikings worldwide were grounded either. I suppose in those days, as flying was still in it's infancy, no risks were ever taken.

Nowadays most people fly. In those days most intercontinental travel was done by sea. Oh! how I loved those voyages back to France which took well over 2 weeks. I was still a child and How I envied all the "grownups" dressing for dinner every evening. But I remember with much chagrin how ill I was in the Bay of Biscay. I also remember that some kind steward came and gave me a large piece of blotting papaer to put under my blouse and shorts. I seem to remember that it made me better. !!

But I also remember having dreadful trouble with my ears when I was young, and my governess putting warmed olive oil in my ear and then putting in cotton wool and then my going to sleep with my afflicted ear on a bag of warm salt. Waking up, with the "boil" in my ear burst and feeling so much better and not in pain. !!Incredible those old remedies.

I also had my tonsils and adenoids out without an anaesthetic. !!. I was led into the doctors "surgery" by a nurse who got very cross with me because I had not curtseyed to the doctor.

"Fait ta reverence," I was ordered.

I did and then advanced up to the chair. The ENT surgeon was sitting in front of me with a big light on his head. My hands were tied to the arms of the chair; my legs were tied together and I was asked to open my mouth.

I did, and honestly, quick as a flash, four large orbs of tissue were on the side of the shelf next to the chair.
I remember thinking

"Now how did they space those apart so evenly so quickly".,

when I had a receiverr placed under my chin and of course the blood flowed. !

But I have no recollection of either fear or pain . Any worthwhile ENT surgeon always comments on my "guillotectomy" - should there be such a word.

And here am I, 81 and still going strong. !

Seeing Man on the Moon, Space ships passing in front of my flat. What a wonderful life I have lived. With generous friends like you who help me so much by sharing your wonderful knowledge with me I am indeed blessed.

Lucky, Lucky me.!

Forgive my rambling on about the medical progress during my lifetime. I was always a chatterbox. Now I am an cyberchatterer. !!!

Have a good weekend,

Christiane.
AR80/81

Dear Deke,

Thank you for your knowledgeable insight into the plight of the Viking in 1953 in Tanganyka. It is interesting that you note that the term "metal fatigue" only came into prominence in 1994 with the loss of the Comet. I remember that aircraft going down as well but cannot recollect where. I must also stress that air travel in those days was done at at much lower altitude and as the weather over Africa could be very dicey with wretched thunder storms and hot air bouncing the aircraft all over the place, there was a great deal of strain on in the fuselage etc of the aircraft.

However, I would definitely state that the "reason" given to all of us, both crew and crew's families was that it was "metal fatigue" and that the wing had fallen off and obviously the poor old Viking plummeted down. Those investigating the crash were in a better postion then because the crash occurred on land and every part of the aeroplane was examined. There is nothing said in the report you sent me that all the Vikings worldwide were grounded either. I suppose in those days, as flying was still in it's infancy, no risks were ever taken.

Nowadays most people fly. In those days most intercontinental travel was done by sea. Oh! how I loved those voyages back to France which took well over 2 weeks. I was still a child and How I envied all the "grownups" dressing for dinner every evening. But I remember with much chagrin how ill I was in the Bay of Biscay. I also remember that some kind steward came and gave me a large piece of blotting papaer to put under my blouse and shorts. I seem to remember that it made me better. !!

But I also remember having dreadful trouble with my ears when I was young, and my governess putting warmed olive oil in my ear and then putting in cotton wool and then my going to sleep with my afflicted ear on a bag of warm salt. Waking up, with the "boil" in my ear burst and feeling so juch better and not in pain. !!Incredible those old remedies.

I also had my tonsils and adenoids out without an anaesthetic. !!. I was led into the doctors "surgery" by a nurse who got very cross with me because I had not curtseyed to the doctor.

"Fait ta reverence," I was ordered.

I did and then advanced up to the chair. The ENT surgeon was sitting in front of me with a big light on his head. My hands were tied to the arms of the chair; my legs were tied together and I was asked to open my mouth.

I did, and honestly, quick as a flash, four large orbs of tissue were on the side of the sheklf next to the chair.
I remember thinking

"Now how did they space those apart so evenly so quickly".,

when I had a receiverr placed under my chin and of course the blood flowed. !1

But I have no recollection of either fear or pain . Any worthwhile ENT surgeon always comments on my "guillotectomy" - should there be such a word.

And here am I 81 and still going strong. !

Seeing Man on the Moon, Space ships passing in front of my flat. What a wonderful life I have lived. With generous friends like you who help me so much by sharing your wonderful knowledge with me I am indeed blessed.

Lucky, Lucky me.!!

Have a good weekend,

Christiane.
AR80/81

Congratulations on your piece about the Viking in The Post'.

It is a valuable insight into another world. H2 could probably do with more of them.

Incidentally, the accompanying photo looks like an American WW2 Boeing B17 'Flying Fortress'.

Deke

Dear Deke.

Thank you so much for all the valuable insight you have given me. I understand about the Viking "breaking" up because of corrosion, but as I said before we were definitely told it was because the wing fell off and the aircraft plummeted down.

You say that metal fatigue was first identified in 1954 - which is like a year after the Vinking crash. Could it be that until then we were not told about the corrosion etc. I know that CAA had Daks as well as Beavers so when the Vikings were taken out of service the minute the CAA Viking crashed in Tangannyka I cannot remember how long they were out of service. I wonder if they ever went into service again? I know my late husband went on to Beavers and did a sort of mail run/pax service in both Nyasaland (Malawi-around Lake

Malawi) and also Barotseland.

As you say, only the black box will reveal all, but there seems to be a clue in the "sensors" - whatever they are.

We have a big family reunion tomorrow. My youngest brother haw flown over with his entire family . I am really longing to see them.

Again many thanks for your insights. are you an engineer that you know so much about aircraft and metal fatigue etc. It is fasciating. My grandaughter is a mechanical engineer and whe is into wind farms and all such things. She got her degree in Australia and came to the UK but could not find a job in any English concern. She has been working for a firm in Holland - has learnt to speak Dutdh and is just waiting to become the projects engineer for a a new wind farm. She is very into shoppinhg for goods with the sustainable mark on it etc. It really is heartwarming to hear her. Lovely lovely person.

With sincere regards
Christiane
AR80

Hi Deke,

I wonder if you heard the news that all the "nose cones" on the Same aircraft as the AIR FRANCE one that broke up[ have been replaced. would that be because it was the sensors that made it go too fast? I wonder.

we are in the middle of a marvellous family reunion. Organised by my baby brother for his two older sisters. it is such fun and today I had my hair dyed - wait for it - green.!!!

An old lady on the arm of a younger lady walked into the bank ahead of me, aThey both looked at me in astonishement and then said.

"Good for you. You look wonderful "

I was chuffed. I do not feel different. Perhaps it will make me feel better when my darling brother and his family come to lunch tomorrow.I only hope that I do not scare off my great neices and my great nephew.

"I feel happy,
Oh so happy....!

Life is really wonderful. !

Go well, and I hope that the space craft will come along very soon I saw that there was a delay in their take off time.

Tuesday 16th June 2009 20.00 BST

go well,

Christiane.
AR80