History of the Flight
The pilot intended to fly a passenger from Cumbernauld to Carlisle, then collect another aircraft. He checked weather and fuel, departed at 1515 hrs, and contacted Scottish Information for a Flight Information Service. After passing Talla VOR, weather deteriorated rapidly. The pilot turned east, hoping for better conditions, but became uncertain of his position. At 1647 hrs he contacted the Distress and Diversion (D&D) cell on 121.50 MHz, though communications were intermittent, relying on relay from commercial aircraft.
D&D identified his position near Kelso, about 35 nm east of his intended route. A Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter from Boulmer was dispatched. The pilot attempted to divert to Charterhall Airfield but could not find it. D&D suggested he follow the River Tweed to Berwick. He found Berwick and orbited until the helicopter arrived. The helicopter crew advised him to fly south to Eshott, but the pilot, concerned about fuel, opted for Brunton. While coasting south, he spotted Goswick Sands and decided to land there instead, informing the helicopter crew. The aircraft landed at 1825 hrs, after 3 hours 10 minutes airborne. The helicopter landed beside him, collected the uninjured pilot and passenger, and returned to Boulmer. A coastguard vessel crew pushed the aircraft onto Holy Island clear of the tide. Two days later, the aircraft was collected by the Chief Flying Instructor, who had it assessed and filled with fuel for a short positioning flight to Eshott.
Aircraft Information
G-BBTZ, a Reims Aviation Cessna F150L (1974), had optional long-range tanks with 132.5 litres usable capacity. The pilot dipped the tanks pre-flight and found 70 litres, enough for the intended flight. He relied on known contents and estimated consumption rather than cockpit gauges. The Cessna 150 Owner's Manual indicates about 20 litres per hour at 3,000 ft, giving endurance of 3.5 hours. Post-incident, the CFI found 18 litres remaining, sufficient for about 55 minutes, plausibly due to lower consumption or conservative pre-flight measurement.
Meteorological Information
The Met Office forecast (0950 hrs) valid 1400-2300 hrs predicted visibility 15 km in light rain, occasionally 7 km, and 3,000 m in heavy rain, with an occluded front reducing to 2,000 m. Broken/overcast cloud base 1,500-3,000 ft, areas of low stratus 300-600 ft, fog on hills, visibility 800 m or less. The most recent aerodrome forecast indicated temporary reduction at Carlisle (visibility 5,000 m, cloud base 1,000 ft) and similar at Glasgow/Edinburgh. An aftercast showed low pressure, occluded front moving into Borders, surface visibility 7-15 km, deteriorating to 3,000-5,000 m over high ground.
Environmental Information
Sunset was 1758 hrs; pilot described conditions as dusk. Low tide at Holy Island occurred at 1716 hrs; water level not appreciably risen by landing.
Aids to Navigation and Communications
The aircraft had a VHF nav/com radio capable of receiving VOR, but the pilot did not use it as an aid. The D&D cell provided position fixes using direction finding from multiple stations.
Flight Rules Compliance
Rule 26 of the Rules of the Air Regulations 1996 requires VFR below FL100 with 5 km visibility, 1,500 m horizontal and 1,000 ft vertical separation from cloud, unless aircraft is below 3,000 ft amsl, in sight of surface, with 1,500 m visibility (or 5 km for higher speeds). The Cessna 150 typically cruises at ≤100 kt, so the lower standard applies. The terrain along the route rises to 2,697 ft near the weather deterioration, making compliance with the 3,000 ft rule impractical.