24-06-2022

How to crash an airplane

Click the image to step through the pictures. All pictures are copyright of Ron McConnell and may not be copied, reproduced in any way without his prior permission.

A very interesting exposé on the cause of the Manchester United diasaster in 1958. Ron McConnell ARPS, AIBP gave a talk on the years that he spent as an MOD photographer, primarily focussing on the Munich Air Disaster that caused the death of so many young men who would have had a fantastic future as football professionals. Unlike the official German enquiry into the accident that blamed the pilot for failing to check for ice on the wings of the aircraft, the investgation by the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Bedfordshire found that it was effectively poor runway maintenance at Munich Airport that caused the disaster by not clearing slush from the runway. Transcripts from the enquiry can be found here:

	Daily Telegraph report on the Runway Slush enquiry>
	Evidence on Air Disaster (Unknown source)

Ron spent about an hour talking to members and answering questions. We had thought that there would have been far more interest in the talk but unfortunately only about 20 attended. It was a fascinating glimpse into a small part of a 95 year old man's life who had such a fascinating and different type of job.

Author: Chris Nixon