What happened
On an unscheduled charter flight operating for BOAC, an aircraft departed London Airport at 20:42 GMT, destined for Prestwick to collect passengers. During the flight, the aircraft maintained a cruising altitude of 18,500 ft before beginning its descent toward the destination. Air traffic control initially cleared the flight to 8,500 ft, but subsequently amended this instruction, requiring the aircraft to cross the Prestwick radio beacon at an altitude of 4,000 ft.
While performing a holding pattern, the captain reported that the aircraft had passed through 11,000 ft. Shortly thereafter, the plane impacted the terrain near the location of the radio beacon. Following the impact, the aircraft slid approximately 400 yards along the ground, which triggered a fire in the starboard wing. The accident resulted in three serious injuries among the five crew members on board, and the aircraft was completely destroyed by the ensuing flames.
Findings
Investigations determined that the pilot flew the aircraft into the ground because of an error in reading the altimeter, which led to a discrepancy of 10,000 ft. The investigation noted that the presentation of altitude on the pressure altimeter was somewhat ambiguous, which may have contributed to the mistake. Furthermore, the crash was attributed to poor cockpit coordination and a lack of alertness from the first officer.