1959 Turkish Airlines Gatwick Crash - Crash Investigation

Crash Investigation

The following facts were ascertained:

1. The aircraft had a valid Certificate of Airworthiness and was properly maintained.
2. The all-up weight and trim of the aircraft were within the prescribed limits.
3. The crew was properly licensed.
4. There was no pre-crash malfunctioning of the aircraft, its engines or its equipment.
5. All the ground facilities were serviceable and functioning correctly.

The investigation concluded that:

the evidence was insufficient to establish the cause of the accident. There was no indication however that this can be associated either with a technical failure of the aircraft or with a failure of the ground services.

An aftercast of the probable weather conditions on the approach to Gatwick from 10 miles (16 km) west to the threshold of Runway 09 was surface wind calm or light westerly and the ground almost entirely covered with fog from the western limit of the area under consideration to about 2.5 miles (4.0 km)-3 miles (4.8 km) from the threshold of runway. The top of the fog was about 650 feet (200 m) to 700 feet (210 m) and the visibility within it varied from about 30 yards (27 m) to 200 yards (180 m) possible with few transient isolated breaks. From the eastern edge of the fog belt to Gatwick, there was mist and haze with visibility 1,500 yards (1,400 m)-2,000 yards (1,800 m) and little or no low cloud.