| summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 10 April 1973 |
| Site | Hochwald, Switzerland |
| Passengers | 139 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Injuries | 36 |
| Fatalities | 108 |
| Survivors | 37 |
| Aircraft type | Vickers Vanguard |
| Operator | Invicta International Airlines |
| Tail number | G-AXOP |
| Flight origin | Bristol Lulsgate Airport |
| Destination | Basle-Mulhouse Airport |
On 10 April 1973 Invicta International Airways Flight 435 was a Vickers Vanguard 952, flying from Bristol Lulsgate to Basle-Mulhouse that ploughed into a snowy, forested hillside near Hochwald, Switzerland. It somersaulted and broke up, killing 108 with 37 survivors. Many of the 139 passengers on the charter flight were women—members of the Axbridge Ladies Guild—from the Somerset, England villages of Axbridge,[1] Cheddar, Winscombe and Congresbury.[2][3][4] The accident left 55 children motherless.[1]
Pilot Anthony Dorman became disoriented, misidentifying two radio beacons and missing another.[1] When co-pilot Ivor Terry took over, his final approach was based on the wrong beacon and the aircraft crashed into the hillside.[1] Dorman had previously been suspended from the Royal Canadian Air Force for lack of ability, and had failed his United Kingdom instrument flying rating eight times.[5] As a result of the crash tougher regulations were introduced in the UK.
Despite the conclusions of the official Swiss report, it has been argued that the pilots may not have been entirely to blame and there is a possibility that they were lured to destruction by "ghost" beacon transmissions caused by electric power lines.[6]
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