On July 26, 1936, a De Havilland DH.60 Moth (registration G-ACGD) operated by Edinburgh Flying Club was involved in an aviation accident near Mt Broad Law, United Kingdom in flight. 2 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: Controlled flight into terrain resulting from the pilot entering clouds at an altitude too low to maintain safe clearance. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A).
A single-engine airplane crashed into Mt Broad Law, killing both occupants, after the pilot entered low clouds while flying from Macmerry to Kingstown.
What happened
The single-engine aircraft departed Macmerry, located east of Edinburgh, on a scheduled flight toward Kingstown near Carlisle. The airplane carried one pilot and one passenger. During the en route phase, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions characterized by low cloud cover. While navigating through these conditions, the aircraft impacted the slope of Mt Broad Law, which stands at 840 metres in elevation. The crash site was situated approximately 50 km south of Edinburgh. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the airframe, and both occupants were killed.
Findings
The official investigation determined that the accident occurred due to a controlled flight into terrain. The primary contributing factor was the pilot's entry into cloud layers while maintaining an altitude that was insufficient for safe navigation under those conditions.
Probable cause
Controlled flight into terrain resulting from the pilot entering clouds at an altitude too low to maintain safe clearance.
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