Vickers Viscount crash, Jul 17, 1980, Exeter
Vickers Viscount accident on July 17, 1980 near Exeter, Devonshire, United Kingdom with no fatalities. Cause: The aircraft ran out of fuel because the...
- Date: July 17, 1980
- Aircraft: Vickers Viscount
- Location: Exeter, Devonshire, United Kingdom
- Fatalities: 0
- Phase of flight: Approach and landing
- Cause: The aircraft ran out of fuel because the crew wrongly believed there was sufficient fuel on board. Unreliable fuel gauges, the pilots' method of establishing fuel quantity without precise company instructions on dripstick use, and probably incorrect refuelling meter indications at Santander were major contributory factors.
On 17 July 1980 Alidair Vickers Viscount G-ARBY, on a charter from Santander to Exeter with 58 passengers and 4 crew, ran out of fuel on approach to Exeter. All four engines lost power and the crew made a forced landing in a grassy valley short of the runway. Nobody was injured, but the aircraft was written off.