1947 BSAA Avro Lancastrian Star Dust accident
An Avro Lancastrian BOAC 691 1945
The aircraft type Avro 691 Lancastrian 3 of 1949 by the British Overseas Airways Corporation ( BOAC ) acquired airline British South American Airways ( BSAA ) by the name of Star Dust ( Stardust, in many publications falsely called Stardust ) and the aircraft registration G - AGWH disappeared with five crew members, consisting of the captain RJ Cook, the first officer NH Cook, the second officer DS Checklin, the Radio officer Dennis B. Harmer and the stewardess Iris M. Evans, and six passengers on board at the August 2, 1947 long time mysterious circumstances in a snowstorm on the Argentine Andes.
Flight-
The aircraft was used on the day of the crash on the route Buenos Aires - Mendoza -Santiago de Chile with flight number CS59 without necessary stopover and had this to cross the mountain range of the Andes from east to west. Despite extremely poor weather conditions over the mountains with limited or no longer existing sight of the surface, the pilots had opted for a direct Andean crossing route and contrary to the prevailing legislation does not use the actually provided for such cases alternative routes. According Funktelegrafiemeldung 17:00 Greenwich Mean Time ( GMT): " 1700 hrs 32 ° 50 ' S 68 ° 30 ' W, Height 20 000 feet, ascending to 24,000 feet, speed 194 knots, Santiago ETA 1743 hrs" ( position of 17:00 32 ° 50 ' South, 68 ° 30' West, current altitude 20 000 feet, rising to 24 000 feet, current airspeed [ uncorrected relative velocity relative to the surrounding air (English: Indicated air Speed IAS) ] 194 nodes, estimated time of arrival in Santiago de Chile 17:43 clock ) they went to the crossing of the Andes at an altitude of 24,000 ft ( about 7,300 m).
" ETA Santiago 1745 hrs" ( estimated time of arrival in Santiago 17:45 clock ): 17:33 GMT the radio operator of the airport received in Santiago de Chile on plane the message. The last of the ground radio operator in Santiago at 17:41 GMT so understood message from onboard the aircraft was " ETA 1745 hrs Santiago STENDEC ". The controller in the tower was for the thus read last message word and its on demand still given by the radio operator double repeat no explanation and it became a mystery. To this day, countless different theories about the meaning of this message have been established. A Spanish UFO magazine used the slightly modified form STENDEK even as a title.
After the crash
Due to the heavy snow storm you came from a crash of the Star Dust, since the pilot just before the demolition connection to the aircraft, had expressed indirectly with his last radio message that the Star Dust located landing at Santiago de Chile. Therefore, initially was sought from the immediate vicinity of the airport. But since they found no wreckage, extended to the search of more and more. Since there was among the six passengers and five crewmembers also an English ambassador with secret papers, the British government pushed for a clarification of the fate of the Star Dust.
Despite an intensive search, which also includes several mountain ranges were included, not a single part wreckage was found. The aircraft was initially lost. Over the next few years, wild rumors about the whereabouts, including UFO theories and various conspiracy theories because the ambassador on board emerged.
Discovery of the wreckage
It was not until more than 50 years later, on January 23, 2000, discovered a group of climbers at the foot of Tupungato an aircraft engine. An expedition team of the Argentine army then examined the area and found more airplane remains. On a piece of wreckage, the letters " Star Dust " could be seen. It is estimated that approximately 10% of the remains were found.
At one discovered propeller could be detected on the basis of damage and deformation that had to be run at nearly the speed of travel speed at the moment of the plane crash the engines. For further discovered ruins including the two large wheels of the aircraft could be concluded that also the landing gear was not extended. From this evidence and from the deformation of the wreckage close expert on a controlled flight with normal engines running directly into the mountainside.
So far no evidence could be found for an uncontrolled crash, for example, due to engine, propeller or wing damage or even for a consciously initiated emergency landing.
Causes of crashes
The most likely explanation for the cause of the crash is the Jetstream. With this up to 200 km / h extremely strong winds at high altitudes pilots had little experience at that time, since only a few aircraft - for example, just Lancastrians such as the Star Dust - could fly high enough at all to get into the jet stream. Today's experts are concerned because of that weather records likely that the jet stream of Star Dust with about 100 miles per hour (160 km / h) contrary blew. He would have significantly slowed the aircraft without having had noticed the pilot.
Because without ground visibility was with the then -board instruments alone, the relative air speed relative to the surrounding air can be determined and not - as in the 1950s with inertial navigation systems - the speed over ground. This determined former navigators under adequate vision with the help of the clock and with charted objects on the ground ( dead reckoning ), which was not possible in the Star Dust due to snow storm.
Because of elapsed time and measured speed, the crew so fancied most likely already beyond the mountain chain, gave the last radio message, with which it announced an expected landing at the airport of Santiago in four minutes, and initiated the descent and hence the landing approach. As the plane passed over into the descent, they must have rammed head-on the Tupungato. Experts suggest that the impact was not in the summit area, but on a slope slightly deeper, while in the premises located above an avalanche was triggered which the aircraft wreckage with the unfortunate occupant then completely buried. Over time, these were part of the glacier and moving slowly with him in the valley.
On the importance of the radio signal " STENDEC "
The possible significance of the alleged radio signal " STENDEC " meaning countless variations and theories have been developed over time. Then, only three variants are to be reproduced, which have a reasonably strong plausibility.
Variant 1
The Morse code of the word STENDEC is almost identical to that of STR DEC, which was an at that time in the " radio operator language" of flying quite common abbreviation of "STARTING DESCENT ".
· · · · ▬ ▬ ▬ · · · · · ▬ ▬ · STENDEC · · · · ▬ ▬ ▬ · · · · · ▬ ▬ · STR DEC Note for Nichttelegrafisten: The "dots" and " dashes" are identical in both cases. Only in the letter " R" ( • ▬ • ) a slightly longer break ( word spacing ) is " in part " been here after the first point. With the greater break, there were so from the "R", the letter " E" ( • ) and "N" ( ▬ • ). Such errors can creep mainly by volatility in hearing as well as during rapid Enter.
This variant is the most importance for several reasons. The testified by the Chilean wireless operator of the airport Los Cerrillos Santiago de Chile rapid signal sequence in a loud and clear reception speaks for such a minor confusion as to letter mapping in some detail at a fully recognized signal sequence. Moreover, it was of such aircraft, which imagined itself after a crossing of the Andes only about five minutes before the supposed landing at this airport from the east to await the delivery of this signal usually been. The is aimed airport is located only a few kilometers west of the Andes and in bad weather directly from this direction him approaching aircraft could therefore not begin until about five minutes before landing at the required rate of descent from those required for the crossing of the Andes relatively large altitude. Leaving the previous flight level with the beginning of the descent was and is even today still reported regularly to the relevant controller (Today first permission for the beginning of the descent must be communicated by voice be obtained! [ ... Request leaving flight level ... for starting descent ] ). In the air traffic control function at that time also the radio operator and pilot of the Chilean Air Force was working at the airport and driven the regular for this message Morse signal was at least for civil aviation in the international English language aeronautical radio as already mentioned STR DEC. The full telegraphic message of the aircraft at 17:41 was after testimony including the unclear hitch: " Santiago ETA 1745 hrs STR DEC = estimated time ( of) arrival Santiago 1745 hrs STARTING DESCENT = estimated time of arrival in Santiago 17:45 clock begin descent ". This message is followed then demand the airfield radio operator nor the last double confirmation: " DEC STR, STR DEC " with the already discussed common meaning. Is that the aircraft was still directly in the Andes, neither the airport nor the aircrew radio operator because of the lack of sight of the surface and the time limitations of speed measurement could even imagine ( no absolute speed over ground), radio navigation and radar control. So the pilots initiated after this last message also logically their descent, if it left the safe for the crossing of the Andes flight altitude of 24,000 feet and raced for them unexpectedly with engines running in the mountain Tupangato.
Since 1947, despite the most intense and most extensive searches no trace of the missing machine and its occupants could be found neither in the vicinity of the controlled airport still in the Andes, was apparently no one on the idea that the message part STENDEC only slightly possible in quickly given signal misreading of the last flight segment before reaching the destination airport under the geographical circumstances actually to be expected default message STR DEC was. This seems, at least from today's perspective, in retrospect somewhat surprising.
Variant 2
Radio transmissions from 17:41 GMT clock was received in Santiago 4 minutes before the expected arrival. The Chilean radio operator in the Tower stated that the signal sequence was loud and clear, but it was sent " in very rapid succession ." As the radio operator in the Tower the word " STENDEC " did not understand as the last part of the overall message and inquired of the radio operator of Star Dust this last message repeated part alone now twice in a row, followed in subsequent radio silence, the aircraft disappeared without a trace.
After this hypothetical interpretation variant was the radio operator of the Star Dust, Dennis Harmer, in a big hurry because he was under a lot of stress and tension. Maybe the crew still had noticed and tried to abort the descent their mistake just before the crash. In panic haste Dennis Harmer would therefore radioed the following message:
STARDUST END DECENT
So " STENDEC ", which means, like " Star Dust cancels descent "
Although the English word for descent is not decent but descent, the flight harmful shortcut for this operation but is certainly in keeping abbreviation DEC. However, an aircraft is never reported by the abbreviation of its received by the airline own name here: Star Dust, but if at all, with its single aircraft G- AGWH or flight number CS59.
Variant 3
In general radio traffic of a message is often sent the word STANDBY at the end. Leaving the D as a possible oversight or due to poor writing skills away, then STANDBY STENDEC and differ only in a few places in Morse Code:
... -. -. - ... -. -. STENDEC ... -. -. - ... -. - STAN (D) BY In this variation is disregarded that the airport radio operator in Santiago de Chile had experience and was able to read all previously delivered by the aircraft radio messages properly. A mix of short and long signals therefore seems very unlikely. In the second variant much more likely he would have taken all the signals in terms of their length correctly, but made a mistake due to the fast signal sequence in only one case in the letter mapping, which can occur even with experienced radio operators sometimes. In addition, none of the previously sent by the radio operator messages with the signal for STANDBY had ended. In flight radio traffic this regard especially in the last phase of flight is totally unnecessary, because the radio operator at least at this time, if not on the entire route and especially in bad weather, always standby and one of the main rules of the aeronautical radio was and still is never to send unnecessary messages or message parts. One such "superfluous " part he had himself or especially after a request message confirmation is not alone once again sparked twice.