1953 Skyways Avro York disappearance
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 Sister aircraft G-AHFG in 1952 | |
| Incident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2 February 1953 |
| Summary | Unexplained disappearance |
| Site |
|
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Avro York |
| Operator | Skyways |
| Registration | G-AHFA |
| Flight origin | Stansted Airport, Stansted, United Kingdom |
| Destination | Jamaica |
| Occupants | 39 |
| Passengers | 33 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 39 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On 2 February 1953, an Avro York four-engined piston airliner registered G-AHFA of Skyways disappeared over the North Atlantic on a flight from the United Kingdom to Jamaica.[1] The aircraft had 39 occupants including 13 children.[2]
It is one of the deadliest aircraft disappearances.
The Avro York was a military trooping flight for the British Air Ministry from Stansted Airport in the United Kingdom to Jamaica with six crew and 33 passengers, including soldiers with their families.[1][3] The aircraft had stopped at Lajes Field in the Azores and departed at 23:25 on 1 February 1953 for Gander Airport in Newfoundland.[1] The aircraft transmitted Positional Operational Meteorological Reports at approximately one-hour intervals from 00:10 to 04:25 on 2 February.[1] At 04:10 the aircraft position was given as 44°32'N 41°38'W.[1] At 05:31 Gander heard an Urgency signal from the aircraft giving a position a minute before the message as 46°15'N 46°31'W.[1] The urgency signal was followed by a distress message SOS, SOS, SOS DE G-A the message stopped abruptly and no further communications from the aircraft were heard.[1]
An extensive air and sea search failed to find any trace of the aircraft or the 39 occupants.[1][2] The following day (3 February) United States Coast Guard cutter Campbell reported several large oil patches and dye markers about 120 miles south-west of the last reported position of the aircraft; the Campbell reported that the search area had snow squalls.[4]
Aircraft
The Avro York (registration: G-AHFA[5]) had been built in 1946 and had completed 6,418 hours total flying time.[6] It had a valid certificate of airworthiness issued three days before the disappearance and had been completely overhauled in November 1952.[6] The aircraft was owned by the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation and operated by Skyways.[3]
The aircraft was first registered to the Ministry of Supply and Aircraft Production on 20 March 1946.[7] It was registered to British South American Airways (BSAA) on 20 August 1946 and operated with the name "Star Dale".[7][8] It was sold to British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) on 3 September 1949.[7] BOAC sold the aircraft in 1951 and it was registered to the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation on 11 December 1951.[7]