Gibraltar – Bordeaux – Bovingdon

On May 8, 1951 at 02:12 PM, Gibraltar – Bordeaux – Bovingdon experienced a crash involving Vickers Viking, operated by Hunting Air Travel, with the event recorded near Bordeaux-Mérignac Gironde.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

31 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 31 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 5, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 26, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. At 1610LT, the aircraft took off for Bovingdon, UK, while on a regular schedule flight from Gibraltar. On throttling down to initial climbing speed, at a height of 50 meters the pilot noted that the speed of the port engine was rapidly decreasing. He shut off this engine and feathered the propeller, opening the starboard engine full out. He then became aware that the aircraft could not maintain its safety speed without losing height and decided to make a wheels up landing on an open space south of the aerodrome. The aircraft slid along the ground for about 100 meters, slewed around and came to a standstill. The copilot was injured, however, the remaining four crew members and twenty-six passengers were unharmed.

Aircraft reference details include registration G-AHPD, MSN 134, year of manufacture 1946.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 44.8311°, -0.6917°.