What happened
On a scheduled charter service transporting personnel for an oil company between Aberdeen and the Shetland Islands, a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (registration KF) was involved in a fatal accident during takeoff from Sumburgh. Following a seven-hour layover, the aircraft, operating as Dan-Air 0034, prepared for departure with 44 passengers and a crew of three. During the taxiing phase, the crew utilized a megaphone for safety briefings due to a malfunctioning passenger address system.
At approximately 15:57 hrs, the aircraft was cleared to backtrack on runway 09. While the engines were accelerated to full power using water-methanol, the aircraft began its takeoff roll at roughly 16:00 hrs. Flight data indicates that while the aircraft reached a speed of 113 kts—surpassing the calculated rotation speed—it failed to lift off the ground. As the aircraft continued down the runway, it began to decelerate and veer left, exiting the paved surface into a grass overrun.
The aircraft struck a 40-centimeter high discontinuity at the edge of the airfield perimeter road, causing the undercarriage to partially collapse. The plane then crossed the road with a nose-down and left-wing-low attitude, traversing sea defenses before plunging into the ocean approximately 50 meters from the shoreline. Although emergency responders arrived quickly, the aircraft sank in about ten meters of water shortly after impact. Of the 45 people on board, there were 17 fatalities, including both pilots and 15 passengers, primarily due to drowning.
Findings
The investigation determined that the primary cause was the locked state of the elevators, which inhibited the aircraft's ability to rotate into a flight attitude. It is believed that the elevator gust-lock re-engaged during pre-takeoff checks, a condition that remained undetected by the crew until the takeoff roll had progressed too far to safely abort the maneuver.