#437
Post
by Boac » Wed Jul 20, 2022 9:59 am
From ASN:
"The Cunard Eagle Vickers Viking took off from London at 13:29 GMT on a charter flight to Stavanger, Norway.
Nearing Stavanger, the flight was given descent instructions in preparation for an ILS approach. The ILS runway at Sola Airport had a magnetic bearing of 185°. The outer marker was positioned 3.8 NM from the runway threshold. When approaching from the south the prescribed procedure is to cross the outer marker at 2000 ft (QNH) and fly north for 2.5 NM, descending to 1500 ft (QFE). A 45° procedure turn is then made to the left and after 45 seconds this is followed by a turn to the right to rejoin the localizer beam.
On re-joining the localizer, the aircraft descends to 1300 ft and, after crossing the outer marker, descent is continued on the glide slope to the approach minimum.
At 16:18 hours the aircraft overflew the airfield to the north. The last surface wind given to the aircraft was 200°/25 kt. However, evidence indicates that at this time a considerably stronger wind existed at the 1600 ft level and the aircraft's maximum angle of drift, while on the procedure turn, may have been as high as 26°. The aircraft likely followed the ILS approach procedure by turning left and then right after passing the outer marker. For some reason the aircraft began to track 105° instead of 185° for the ILS.
The aircraft continued until it impacted Holteheia, a steep mountainside running in a north-south direction, at an elevation of 1600 feet."
Sounds like a procedure turn without wind allowance. I had a very exciting arrival leading a pair of Harriers into Sola on a 'planned' visual approach - the last a/c to land before the airfield closed for unforecast exceptionally poor weather. I finished up with an unplanned, unpublished and non-standard TACAN approach to a 300' cloudbase (no ILS on the Harrier and no GVA available at SOLA). My young No2 did exceptionally well to hang onto my wing. He went on to the rank of Air Chief Marshall before his untimely death in 2010.