British South American Airways
British South American Airways (BSAA) or British South American Airways Corporation was a state-run airline in Britain in the 1940s. It was originally called British Latin American Air Lines Ltd.(BLAA). It began as part of British Overseas Airways Corporation and returned to BOAC in 1949.
[edit] History
British Latin American Air Lines split from British Overseas Airways Corporation to operate the United Kingdom's Caribbean and South Atlantic routes. It used Langley Airfield for maintenance before transferring all operations to London Heathrow Airport. It began transatlantic scheduled services in March 1946, the BSAA Lancastrian G-AGWG Star Light making the first ever operational flight from the newly-opened London Heathrow Airport. BSAA operated mostly Avro aircraft: Yorks, Lancastrians and Tudors. It flew to Bermuda, the West Indies and the western coast of South America. BSAA was planning to introduce de Havilland Comets when in 1949 it merged back into BOAC.
BSAA had several mysterious accidents. The loss without trace of the Tudors G-AHNP Star Tiger and G-AGRE Star Ariel were cited as evidence of the Bermuda Triangle, and the loss of the Lancastrian Star Dust in the Andes after sending a partly unreadable radio message was named the STENDEC incident. Wreckage of Star Dust found in 2000 appeared to confirm a mundane accident (controlled flight into terrain).
For most of its existence it was headed by the former Air Vice Marshall, Donald Bennett, its Chief Engineer being the former Group Captain, C. F. Sarsby.
[edit] List of aircraft
[edit] Avro Lancastrian
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[edit] Avro Tudor
[edit] Avro Anson
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[edit] Avro York
[edit] Airspeed Consul
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[edit] Star Tiger and Star Ariel
The Star Tiger and Star Ariel were Avro Tudor IV aircraft lost over the Atlantic. The loss of each without a trace, plus the unexplained disappearance of a DC-3 south of Miami on 27 December 1948, and the loss of Flight 19 on 5 December 1945, led to the creation of the Bermuda Triangle myth.[1]
[edit] Star Tiger
On 30 January 1948, Star Tiger was flying from England to Bermuda. It stopped for fuel in the Azores. Early on 31 January the captain asked for a bearing for Bermuda. The request was routine, and there was no cause for alarm. He then gave an estimated arrival at 05:00. That was the last contact. Azores to Bermuda is 2,230 miles (3,588 km). At 05:00 a search was launched from Bermuda but the aircraft was not found.
[edit] Star Ariel
Star Ariel G-AGRE left Bermuda for Kingston, Jamaica on 17 January 1949. Soon after take-off captain John McPhee radioed a standard departure message including an estimate at Kingston of 14:10. This was followed by a position report "I was over 30° N at 9:37 I am changing frequency to MRX." Star Ariel it was never heard from again. Over 70 aircraft and many ships searched between up to 500 miles south of Bermuda, including the aircraft carriers USS Kearsage and USS Leyte, and the battleship USS Missouri, involving more than 13,000 men. No debris, oil slicks, or wreckage were found. The Tudor IV was later discontinued.
[edit] Further accidents and incidents
- 7 September 1946: an Avro 685 York I registration G-AHEW named "Star Leader" flying from London to Buenos Aires via Lisbon, Bathurst (Banjul)-Jeshwang, Natal, Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont and Montevideo lost control and crashed shortly after takeoff from Bathurst. The cause of the loss of control cannot be determined with certainty, but a mishandling of the controls by the captain is the most likely explanation. All 24 occupants died.[2][3]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Tudors
- ^ "Accident description G-AHEW". Aviation Safety Network. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19460907-1. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- ^ "23 Killed in Crash of Plane in Africa". Pittsburg Press: p. 1. 7 September 1946.
[edit] External links
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