Dan-Air Flight 0034

31 Jul 1979 · Sumburgh Airport

Dan-Air Services Hawker Siddeley HS.748-105 series 1 · Maintenance error (Accidental engagement of gust lock)

From Sumburgh Airport (LSI) to Aberdeen International Airport (ABZ)

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Event

Event type: Accident
Event fatalities: 17 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities: Unknown
Occupants: 47
Survivors: 30
Injuries: Unknown
Operation: Airline

Hawker Siddeley HS.748-105 series 1

Aircraft type: Hawker Siddeley HS-748
Category: Airplane · from aircraft type
Registration: G-BEKF
Operator: Dan-Air Services
Onboard fatalities: 17
Route: From Sumburgh Airport (LSI)To Aberdeen International Airport (ABZ)

Cause areas

Aircraft › Aircraft systems
Personnel issues › Task performance
Personnel issues › Psychological
Aircraft › Aircraft handling/service

From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.

Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.

From the Wikipedia article

Dan-Air Flight 0034 was a fatal accident involving a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 series 1 turboprop aircraft operated by Dan-Air Services Limited on an oil industry charter flight from Sumburgh Airport, Shetland Islands, to Aberdeen Airport.

The crash, which occurred on 31 July 1979 50 m offshore following the aircraft's failure to take off, resulted in the aircraft's destruction and 17 deaths of 47 on board (15 of 44 passengers and both pilots).

Accident

G-BEKF was engaged on regular charter flights between Aberdeen and Sumburgh, carrying oil company personnel. The inbound flight to Sumburgh was made without incident and the crew had a seven-hour stopover before making the return flight to Aberdeen, Dan-Air 0034, with 44 passengers on board.

When flight 0034 was cleared for takeoff from runway 09 at 15:59 hours, the engines were accelerated while the aircraft was held back by its brakes. The takeoff run commenced at exactly 16:00 hours. Evidence later retrieved from the aircraft's flight data recorder showed that it accelerated normally through the V1 decision speed of 92 kn, to its V2 takeoff safety speed of 99 kn. However, no rotation was carried out even though the aircraft significantly exceeded its VR vertical rotation speed of 113 kn.

About five seconds after reaching the scheduled rotation speed, the aircraft began to decelerate. It then crossed the airport perimeter road and passed over the inclined sea defences, losing its undercarriage, port wing and breaking its fuselage in two in the process. The aircraft came to rest on the surface of the sea, approximately 50 m from the shoreline, sinking nose first after two to three minutes, in approximately 10 m of water. Elizabeth Cowe, the sole flight attendant, was among the 30 survivors. She assisted in the rescue of 26 of the 29 surviving passengers, which earned her an MBE in recognition of her bravery. However, adverse weather conditions hampered rescue attempts mounted by boat and helicopter, and they were unable to prevent the remaining 15 passengers' and both pilots' deaths by drowning.

Investigation and cause

Investigation

The accident was notified by Sumburgh Air Traffic Control at 17:30 hours on 31 July 1979. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) commenced their investigation the following morning.

The entire wreckage was salvaged and removed for a detailed examination, which needed to take into account the additional damage that had resulted from the action of the sea and the salvage operation. Both engines were stripped down and examined, but no evidence of pre-impact failure was found. The propeller control units were tested and were discovered to perform within specification. No evidence of fire, smoke, or overheating was found.

Although the compass selector was discovered to have been switched to the co-pilot's instrument, it was not established which pilot handled the takeoff (company regulations stated that the commander should perform this if the co-pilot was inexperienced). It was however considered possible that it had been moved during evacuation or salvage.

Cause

The AAIB investigation concluded that the accident was caused by the locked condition of the aircraft's elevators which prevented the aircraft rotating into a flying attitude. It was thought likely that the elevator gust lock became re-engaged during the pilots' pre-takeoff checks, and that it was not noticed until the takeoff was so far advanced that a successful abandonment within the overrun area could not be made. The re-engagement of the gust lock was made possible by the condition of the gust lock lever gate plate and gate-stop strip, to which non-standard repairs had been made.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Dan-Air Flight 0034” (revision 1349246698, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article

Sources

Wikipedia article: Dan-Air Flight 0034

Article: Dan-Air Flight 0034
Revision: 1349246698 · 2026-04-16 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata: Q5213020
Licence: Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)

Where each value comes from

Record: Wikipedia article "Dan-Air Flight 0034" (page 19026027, revision 1349246698)
Date: Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country: Wikipedia infobox: site; country from Wikidata (P17)
Map position: Wikipedia article coordinates
Aircraft, operator and route: Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
Operation: flight number in the article title
Fatalities: Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
Ground fatalities: not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
Summary: Wikipedia infobox: summary

Source notes (1)

Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.