Flight Details
The aircraft was engaged in a contracted freight (mail) flight from Liverpool to the Isle of Man, U.K., scheduled to depart at 07:29 hrs. The fuel gauges prior to departure indicated between 80 and 85 Imperial Gallons (IG). As the required fuel for the planned flight was 82 IG, the aircraft was not refuelled.
Sequence of Events
After an uneventful flight, the crew conducted a radar approach to runway 09 at Ronaldsway-Isle of Man Airport. Failing to see the runway by decision height (460 feet), the commander initiated a go-around and returned to the VOR approach beacon before departing for the selected diversion. Considering the wind, the pilot chose to return to Liverpool (86 nm) instead of the planned diversion airfield at Valley RAF Station (51 nm).
When abeam the Wallasey VOR, about 15 nm from Liverpool airport, the aircraft was positioned by radar downwind for an approach to runway 27. As it turned onto the final approach path, the right engine lost power. The pilot did not feather the propeller, believing the engine still produced some power. As the rate of descent increased, he applied full throttle to all three engines. Despite this and selecting the speed for optimum climb rate, the aircraft continued descending at a rate that made a landing considerably short of the runway inevitable.
The commander made a truncated MAYDAY call and placed the aircraft in a convenient open field below and slightly north of the normal approach path.
Accident Site and Damage
The accident site was a low-lying field of winter crop subject to tidal flooding. Approximately halfway across the field, a drainage ditch 2.4 meters wide and 2.4 meters deep ran at 45 degrees to the aircraft's direction of travel. Initial touchdown occurred about 76 meters east of the ditch on a heading of 270 degrees magnetic. Just after touchdown, the right main landing gear failed rearward, and the aircraft continued on its nose and left landing gear until colliding with an embankment bordering the ditch, causing the remaining landing gears to collapse. The aircraft came to rest with its fuselage in the ditch, supported by the wings resting on the embankments.
Investigation Findings
Examination of the flight profile and associated flight times showed that all fuel aboard the aircraft would have been consumed. Therefore, the likely reason for the lack of response to full throttle when the right engine failed was a previous or simultaneous failure of the center engine due to fuel starvation.