G-AOVD  Bristol  175 Britannia 312               (c/n  13235)

                                 

                                     Here's a nice night shot of the ill-fated G-AOVD at Idlewild Airport in 1958.(New York's Inter-
                                     national Airport wasn't renamed John F. Kennedy untiil 1963).  On 24 December 1958 the aircraft
                                     was on a test flight in connection with the renewal of its C of A.  After performing the necessary tests,
                                     the crew requested a descent from 12000 feet to 3000 feet.   Some 3 minutes after starting the descent,
                                     the aircraft struck the ground in dense fog near Winkton, Dorset   The Britannia was fitted with a three
                                     point altimeter which had proven complicated on more than one occasion (see G-ANBB).  A high
                                     degree of attention was necessary in interpreting the altimeter correctly.   The cause of the accident
                                     was given as a failure on the part of both the captain and the first officer to establish the altitude of the
                                     aircraft before and during the final descent.