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Vintage: Aer Turas Flight 612 crashes at Dublin Airport 1967
On 12 June 1967, Aer Turas Flight 612, a Bristol 170 Freighter 31E, crashed while performing a go-around after a failed landing at Dublin Airport. The Bristol Wayfarer aircraft crashed in flames killing the crew of two men. This was the first fatal crash at Dublin Airport. The aircraft was returning from Prestwick in Scotland to Dublin when one of its engines cut out. The pilot attempted to overshoot the runway but the plane veered to the left and crashed. The aircraft was owned by the Irish independent company Aer Turas.
The two men killed were Canadian Gordon Willis who lived at Griffith Avenue and Irishman Percy S Maynard of Templeogue. The tragedy occurred at 18h58 when the aircraft hit the ground, stuck a railing and careered into an office at the south east corner of the airport bursting into flames. Emergency alarms were raised and ambulances and fire engines rushed to the scene. The Bristol Type 170 Freighter is a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner. Its best known use was as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances. A passenger-only version was also produced, known as the Wayfarer. The Freighter was developed during the Second World War, having attracted official attention from the British Air Ministry, which sought the development of a rugged vehicle capable of carrying various cargoes, including a 3-ton truck. Various changes to the design were made to accommodate their requirements but being completed too late to participate in the conflict, the majority of sales of the Freighter were to commercial operators. In response to customer demand, an enlarged version to maximise vehicle-carrying capacity, known as the Bristol Superfreighter, was developed. Sources: RTE Archives, Wikiwand |
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