What happened
On a scheduled morning flight from Ronaldsway Airport in the Isle of Man to Ringway Airport in Manchester, an aircraft operated by Manx Airlines Ltd encountered a fatal accident. The flight departed at 0915LT carrying a total of 42 people, consisting of 39 passengers and 3 crew members.
At roughly 0945LT, the aircraft struck terrain near the summit of Winter Hill. The impact resulted in the destruction of the plane and caused 35 fatalities. While all five crew members survived the crash, they sustained serious injuries during the event.
Findings
The investigation determined that the accident was primarily due to a navigation error involving the radio compass. Specifically, the first officer incorrectly tuned the equipment to the Oldham Beacon rather than the intended Wigan Beacon. Additionally, it was noted that the captain failed to verify that the radio compass had been set to the proper beacon.