What happened
During a scheduled post-overhaul inspection flight, an aircraft departed from London-Heathrow Airport in the morning hours. The crew, consisting of pilots and engineers, was conducting a check flight following significant maintenance work. Approximately ten minutes into the flight, while the aircraft was maintaining an altitude of 1,000 feet, the right wing suffered a structural failure and separated from the fuselage.
Following the loss of the wing, the aircraft became uncontrollable and descended rapidly into a field in Frimley. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and caused the deaths of all six occupants.
Findings
Investigations revealed that the primary cause of the structural failure was an incorrectly configured elevator spring tab. During the recent overhaul, work performed on this mechanism was done improperly, causing the tab to operate in reverse. This malfunction induced unintended aerodynamic forces that subjected the airframe to extreme stress, ultimately leading to the separation of the right wing. Additionally, it was determined that the inspection process failed to identify the faulty component due to negligence by the personnel responsible for verifying the maintenance work.