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Registration or Serial:
G-AMRB
Operator: Starways
Operating Base: Liverpool (Speke) Airport
Base
Location: Speke, near Liverpool
Current
Airport Status: Operational Civil Airport
Current
Airport Name: Liverpool John Lennon Airport
(EGGP)
(Principal airport data courtesy of
John Woodside,
A
Catalogue of UK Airfields)
Aircraft Nicknames:
Dakota; Gooney Bird
Aircraft Type & Background
The
Douglas C47 aircraft was a military version of the Douglas DC-3. the
C47B variant was powered by two R1830-90 engines, equipped with
superchargers and extra fuel capacity for extended flying by the
military. This particular C47B, however, had been decommissioned and
disposed of for civilian use. At the time of the accident, it was being
operated by Starways.
Starways
was a British airline, operating from 1948 to 1963, when it was
taken over by British Eagle. Its operating base was Liverpool (Speke)
airport. Among other types, Starways operated Avro Ansons, Douglas
DC-3's, DC-4's and Vickers Viscounts.
Aircraft Construction
All metal.
Aircraft Accident Details
It is
sometimes reported that the aircraft involved in the accident was a
Douglas DC-3. However, according to the accident report, and to Mr
Blane Sr.—a former Renfrew aerodrome fireman who attended the crash
scene—it was a Douglas C47B. The C47 was the military variant of
the DC-3; although, by this time, it was in civilian use. The
C47 was known as the 'Dakota', or sometimes, the 'Gooney Bird'.
This
aircraft had departed from Liverpool Speke airport and was on
approach to the former Glasgow Renfrew aerodrome on a (re-)
positioning flight. The aircraft had been chartered to fly to
Lourdes the following day.
The C47B
was making an instrument approach to Renfrew aerodrome when it
struck Greenside Hill at 1250 ft msl.
According
to the accident report, the crash was due to pilot error. The report
states that the Captain permitted the aircraft to descend below the
approved safe height for approach to Renfrew aerodrome. As a result,
the aircraft hit the ground some miles short of the airport.
Of the
three crew members on board, the pilot and air hostess survived. The
co-pilot, however, was killed in the accident. The pilot pulled the
air hostess out of the wreck, crawled down the hill with a broken
back, ribs and other severe injuries to raise the alarm, and then
crawled back up to the crash site. When the fire crews arrived, they
couldn't run hoses up but could only take hand held extinguishers,
which were ineffectual.
The
information in the last paragraph above was provided by Mr. Blane Sr. (fireman
in attendance), and was very kindly passed on to the
author of this website by his son.
Being a
positioning flight only, no passengers were being carried at the
time of the accident.
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Accident Date
28
March 1956
Accident
Site
Greenside Hill
Region: North Ayrshire
Nearest
town or village: Largs
OS Grid Ref:
63 / NS 273578 (?)
Hill Walking
Notes
Easily
accessible low rising moorland / hill slopes with some rough
ground in places.
Full hill
walking equipment recommended, including map & compass (GPS
optional). All hill areas subject to fluctuating weather
conditions with extensive mist at times.
Present Condition
Some fragmented wreckage
remains at the
site. (See link to impact point photos below.)
Related Links
Articles on Starways airlines and on the Douglas C47 and its
variants are available at the following
sites:
Flight Simulator Photos
Other photos available here:
Photo of a typical military C47
U.S. Douglas C47
Photo: 1946 U.S. Air Force
Airborne Training School
(public domain)
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