Invicta International Airlines Vickers Vanguard Crash Near Basel-Mulhouse (G-AXOP)

Flight Operations and Weather Conditions The Invicta International Airlines Vickers Vanguard was operating a charter flight from Bristol (BRS) to Basel-Mulhouse (BSL). After entering the Basel-Mulhouse terminal area, the flight was cleared to continue to the BN NDB. Weather was poor, with a cloud base of 120 m (390 feet) and reported runway visual ranges of 700 m (2,300 feet) and 1,300 m (4,250 feet). ## Approach Sequence and Navigation Errors On arrival at the BN beacon, the crew were cleared to descend to 2,500 feet and asked to report over the MN beacon before making a 90° left-hand turn to finals for runway 16. At 09:56, the crew reported at 2,500 feet, followed by a position report of the MN beacon at 09:57:40. When on finals over the BN beacon, the crew reported turning outbound and said they would report at the MN beacon again for another approach. When the crew reported overhead the BN beacon again, the aircraft was actually overhead the airfield, flying parallel to the ILS localizer beam. After 1.5 minutes, the aircraft began to overshoot, correctly making an initial turn to the west. The crew, now flying well south of the field, were instructed to report back over the MN beacon. When reporting over the MN beacon again, before it would have to turn left for finals, the plane was in fact overhead the BS beacon, a beacon located to the south of runway 16. ## Final Approach and Impact At 10:11:25, the crew reported over the BN beacon on finals and was cleared to land. In fact, the plane was now flying 3 miles south of the field and 1 mile west of the extended centerline. Two miles further on, Basle ATC asked the crew, “Are you sure you are over the BN?” The captain replied, “I think I’ve got a spurious indication. We are on the LO... on the ILS now, sir.” Half a minute later, the captain radioed, “BN is established on localizer and glide path; the ADF’s all over the place in this weather.” Last radio contact was when the captain reported at 1,400 feet, to which ATC replied that the flight was probably to the south of the airport. At 10:13, the plane brushed against a wooded range of hills and crashed 15 km southeast from the airport. The aircraft disintegrated, except for the tail section, where most of the survivors were found. Two stewardesses and 35 passengers survived, while 108 other occupants were killed.