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The Mystery of Aer Lingus Flight 712 Was it a British Missile Strike and Cover Up in 1968?
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Mechanical Failure? The St. Phelim was a ten year old Vickers Viscount turbo-prop aircraft which allegedly suffered from some rust and corrosion problems. The resulting Aer Lingus investigation following the crash concluded that neither the aircraft or the crew contributed to the accident. It’s inquiry was headed by Arthur Walls, an engineer whose brother died in the crash. However rumours have continued to this day that the Viscount poor safety record was the cause of the crash and more specifically, that the aircraft tail broke off in flight. What about the excellent safety record of the Viscount : did this dependable aircraft have a hidden weakness that certain flying conditions could turn into a death-trap? What type of sinister force could incapacitate a modern, robust, four-engined , well-maintained aircraft? An Aer Lingus Viscount aircraft had crashed the previous year. Viscount EI-AOF was on a training flight on June 22nd 1967 and was to operate to the north-west of Dublin, over Co. Meath. The aircraft was cleared by ATC to operate between 10 and 15,000 feet, and no further contact was made, a normal procedure to allow the crew to operate without interruption. At 8.35 am the aircraft spun into a field near Ashbourne and exploded. 'OF was heard and seen by various witnesses to have been behaving erratically some time before the crash, and the accident investigator concluded that the Viscount had entered an unintentional stall and spin at a low altitude from which recovery was not possible. |