Background
The aircraft departed London Airport at 0755 local time for a training flight, which was part of a routine base check conducted by a training captain on a line captain. After completing the first part of the check, the aircraft landed at Blackbushe.
Sequence of Events
At approximately 0850 local time, a takeoff was commenced from Blackbushe for another exercise. Upon reaching takeoff safety speed, the training captain simulated a failure of the starboard outer engine. At that moment, the aircraft was just leaving the ground. The starboard inner propeller was observed to stop, and the aircraft began turning to the right with an increasing bank angle. It rose to about 30 feet, then descended and struck the ground 250 yards from the runway in a steeply banked, nose-down attitude.
Impact and Aftermath
The aircraft cartwheeled, slid backward along the ground for 200 yards, and came to rest just inside the northwest boundary of the aerodrome. It sustained major impact damage, and fire broke out, nearly completely destroying the aircraft. The five occupants escaped with only slight injuries.
Investigation Findings
The probable cause, as determined by the investigation, was an error by the training captain who operated the No. 3 high pressure cock lever instead of the No. 4 lever when simulating a failure of the No. 4 engine during takeoff. This resulted in the loss of all power from both starboard engines at a critical point of the takeoff.