View source for BSAA Star Ariel disappearance

{{Short description|1949 disappearance of passenger aircraft}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2014}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:BSAA ''Star Ariel'' disappearance}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
|name             = BSAA ''Star Ariel'' disappearance
|occurrence_type  = Accident
|image            = Avro Super Trader at Manchester 1955.jpg
|image_upright    = 1.15
|alt              = 
|caption          = An Avro Tudor Mk.IVB Super Trader similar to the aircraft that disappeared
|date             = 17 January 1949
|type             = [[List of aerial disappearances|Disappearance]]
|site             =Atlantic Ocean
|coordinates      = 
<!--These 17 entries for single-aircraft occurrence:------>
|aircraft_type    = [[Avro 688 Tudor Mark IV]]|
|aircraft_name    = ''Star Ariel''
|operator         = [[British South American Airways]] (BSAA)
|tail_number      = G-AGRE
|origin           = Bermuda
|stopover         = 
|stopover0        = 
|stopover1        = 
|stopover2        = 
|stopover3        = 
|last_stopover    = 
|destination      = [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], [[Colony of Jamaica|Jamaica]]
|passengers       = 13
|crew             = 7
|injuries         = 
|fatalities       = 20
|survivors        = 0
}}
{{Externalimage |float=right |width=22.0em<!--Should match above infobox's width--> |image1=[http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Coates/1422.htm A picture of ''Star Ariel'']}}

'''''Star Ariel''''' ([[United Kingdom aircraft registration|registration]] '''G-AGRE''') was an [[Avro Tudor|Avro Tudor Mark IVB]] passenger aircraft owned and operated by [[British South American Airways]] (BSAA) which [[List of aerial disappearances|disappeared without a trace]] over the [[Atlantic Ocean]] while on a flight between Bermuda and [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], [[Colony of Jamaica|Jamaica]], on 17 January 1949. The loss of the aircraft, along with that of BSAA Avro Tudor [[BSAA Star Tiger disappearance|''Star Tiger'']] in January 1948, remains unsolved, with the resulting speculation helping to develop the [[Bermuda Triangle]] legend.

==Background==
[[British South American Airways]] (BSAA) was an airline created by former [[World War II]] pilots in an effort to provide service on the previously untapped South American trade and passenger routes. Originally named British Latin American Air Lines (BLAIR), it was split off from the [[British Overseas Airways Corporation]] (now [[British Airways]]) to operate its South Atlantic routes. BSAA commenced transatlantic services in March 1946, making the first operational flight from [[London]]'s [[Heathrow Airport]]. The airline operated mostly [[Avro]] aircraft: [[Avro York|Yorks]], [[Avro Lancastrian|Lancastrians]] and [[Avro Tudor|Tudors]]. Its destinations included Bermuda, the [[West Indies]] and the western coast of South America.

==Flight==
The ''Star Ariel'' was one of three enlarged and improved versions of the Avro Tudor, designated Mark IVs. On 17 January 1949, ''Star Ariel'' was awaiting flight instructions at [[Kindley Air Force Base|Kindley Field]], Bermuda, with no passengers. Meanwhile, BSAA Tudor G-AHNK ''Star Lion'' suffered an [[engine failure]] on approach to Bermuda, landing without incident. ''Star Ariel'' was promptly pressed into service to take G-AHNK's passengers on to their destination of [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], [[Colony of Jamaica|Jamaica]].

''Star Ariel'' took off at 08:41 with seven crew and thirteen passengers. Weather conditions were excellent, and her [[pilot in command]], Captain John Clutha McPhee (formerly of the [[Royal New Zealand Air Force]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geni.com/people/Captain-John-Clutha-McPhee/6000000021281526833|title=Captain John Clutha McPhee|work=geni_family_tree|accessdate=19 March 2016}}</ref> decided on a high-altitude flight to take advantage of it. About an hour into the flight McPhee contacted Kingston by radio:

:"I DEPARTED FROM KINDLEY FIELD AT 8:41 A.M. HOURS. MY ETA AT KINGSTON 2:10 P.M. HOURS. I AM FLYING IN GOOD VISIBILITY AT 18,000 FT. I FLEW OVER 150 MILES SOUTH OF KINDLEY FIELD AT 9:32 HRS. MY ETA AT 30° N IS 9:37 HRS. WILL YOU ACCEPT CONTROL?"

And then at 09:42:

:"I WAS OVER 30° N AT 9:37 I AM CHANGING FREQUENCY TO MRX."

==Loss==
No more messages were received from ''Star Ariel'' and Kingston finally reported her overdue.

==Search==
The search for the ''Star Ariel'' began with another Tudor IV, G-AHNJ ''Star Panther''. She had earlier landed at [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], and now refuelled and took off at 15:25 to fly out to ''Star Ariel's'' route, bisect it, and follow it back to Bermuda. Another aircraft took off from Bermuda, flew {{convert|500|mi|abbr=on}}, then did a {{convert|10|mi|abbr=on}} lattice search all the way back. A US Navy task force headed by the battleship {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}} and including the [[aircraft carriers]] [[USS Kearsarge (CV-33)|USS ''Kearsarge'']] and [[USS Leyte (CV-32)|USS ''Leyte'']] assisted in the search, which expanded to dozens of ships and several planes over the next few days.

By 19 January the search had been broadened to an area of {{convert|55000|sqmi|abbr=on}} southwest of Bermuda.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49936400|title=19 Jan 1949 - 19 aboard missing U.K. plane - Trove|work=Trove|date=19 January 1949 |accessdate=19 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22691858|title=19 Jan 1949 - 19 aboard missing airliner: gigantic sea search - Trove|work=Trove|date=19 January 1949 |accessdate=19 March 2016}}</ref> USAF Major Keith Cloe, who had been put in charge, said that the search would be continued until 22 January and extended if any reports of debris were received.<ref name=times1949-01-20-a>{{Cite news | title = Search for Star Ariel | newspaper = [[The Times]] | pages = 4 | date = 20 January 1949 }}</ref> The search was finally abandoned on 23 January, with aircraft from Kindley Field having flown over {{convert|1000000|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref name=times1949-01-24>{{Cite news | title = Search for Star Ariel Abandoned | newspaper = [[The Times]] | pages = 3 | date = 24 January 1949 }}</ref> No sign of debris, oil slicks or wreckage had been found.

==Investigation==
A representative of the [[Air Accidents Investigation Branch|Chief Inspector of Accidents]] left for Bermuda on 18 January 1949.

It was revealed that there had been no bad weather, none of the weather reports indicating any abnormal conditions, and the chance of any marked [[clear air turbulence]] was almost nil. There were no clouds above {{convert|10000|ft|abbr=on}} over the whole of the aircraft's route.

However, although the weather was good, the day in question had suffered communication problems ranging from static to poor reception to complete blackouts lasting as much as 10 minutes which came and went, selectively affecting certain planes calling certain stations from different angles. The communication problem lasted almost exactly the entire time the ''Star Ariel'' would have been in flight, finally lifting around 13:07.

This was investigated, along with McPhee's switch over to Kingston frequency which was considered early, as he was still close to Bermuda at the time. It was considered possible that a distress transmission on that frequency might not have been heard, given the aircraft's distance from Kingston.
 
However, a BSAA representative in Kingston observed{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}:

:"It would appear that the aircraft should have made firm contact with MRX before requesting permission from Bermuda to change frequency. This was obviously not done as MRX never worked G-AGRE on this frequency at all. In addition I am convinced that G-AGRE did not ever transmit on this frequency of 6523 kc/s. even if Bermuda did give authority to change frequency which they could quite readily have done. This latter opinion is based on the fact that not only was MRX in Jamaica listening out  on 6523 kc/s. but so also were New York, Miami, Nassau, Havana, and Bilbao and, so far as we are aware and from what definite information we have, none of these stations ever heard from G-AGRE on 6523 kc/s. Whilst it may have been possible for us not to hear G-AGRE owing to the bad reception Palisadoes [Kingston Aerodrome] was experiencing at the time of the requested [[Q code|QSY]] [change of frequency], it would seem most improbable for similar conditions to obtain with all those other stations listening out on that frequency."

===Conclusions===
On 21 December 1949 the report of the inquiry was issued by the [[Air Accidents Investigation Branch|Chief Inspector of Accidents]], [[Air Commodore]] Vernon Brown, [[Order of the Bath|CB]], [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]], MA, [[Royal Aeronautical Society|FRAeS]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1951/1951%20-%200458.html|title=accident investigation - minister - chief inspector - 1951 - 0458 - Flight Archive|accessdate=19 March 2016}}</ref> In it he stated that "through lack of evidence due to no wreckage having been found, the cause of the accident is unknown."

Brown said that there was no evidence of defect in, or failure of, any part of the aircraft before its departure from Bermuda. The all-up weight and the centre of gravity were within the prescribed limits; a daily inspection had been carried out; the pilot was experienced on the route; the radio officer was very experienced and also experienced on the route; good radio communications had been maintained with the aircraft up to and including reception of its last message; there were no weather complications, and a study of the weather reports have no reason to believe that the accident was caused by meteorological conditions. There was also no evidence of sabotage, though Brown said that the possibility of such could not be entirely eliminated.

It was accepted that radio communications were poor during the early afternoon and worsened between 16:00 and 17:00, but Brown said it seemed strange that no attempt was made by BSAA staff at Kingston to find out whether anything had been heard of the aircraft until 2 hours 28 minutes after its last radio transmission. Kingston also did not attempt to establish contact with the aircraft until 17:10 or inquire as to whether it had made contact with Nassau or New York or any other radio station.<ref name=times1949-12-21>{{Cite news | title = Loss of Star Ariel. Riddle Unsolved by Inquiry. | newspaper = [[The Times]] | pages = 4 | date = 21 December 1949 }}</ref>

==Aftermath==
As a result of the loss, BSAA withdrew all five of its remaining Tudor IVs from service until each had been examined. The company faced problems in maintaining its services, since it was difficult to find aircraft of sufficient range, and considered chartering [[Avro Lancastrian]]s.<ref name=times1949-01-20>{{Cite news | title = Tudors Taken Out of Service | newspaper = [[The Times]] | pages = 4 | date = 20 January 1949 }}</ref>

[[Don Bennett]], who had been fired by BSAA in 1948 when he objected to a judicial investigation into the [[BSAA Star Tiger disappearance|loss of the ''Star Tiger'']], later claimed that both the ''Star Tiger'' and ''Star Ariel'' had been sabotaged and that "a known war-registered saboteur" had been seen near the ''Star Tiger'' shortly before its last takeoff. He also claimed that Prime Minister [[Clement Attlee]] had ordered all enquiries into the incidents to be abandoned.<ref name=orange255>Orange, p. 255</ref>

The Tudor IV aircraft were converted to freight use, but Bennett had two restored to passenger use, and one of these, [[Llandow air disaster|G-AKBY ''Star Girl'']], crashed near Cardiff in March 1950 with the loss of 80 lives, at that time the worst air accident in Britain. An enquiry found incorrect loading to be the cause.<ref name=orange255/>

A 2009 theory is that the poor design of the Tudor IVB's cabin heater could have contributed to the plane's loss. According to Don Mackintosh, a former BSAA Tudor IV pilot, and Captain Peter Duffey, a former BSAA pilot, the cabin heater, located underneath the floor of the cockpit, was also placed close to hydraulic pipes. This meant that hydraulic vapor could have leaked and come into contact with the hot heater, causing either a fire or an explosion.<ref name="BBCExamination">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8248334.stm|title=BBC NEWS - UK - Bermuda Triangle plane mystery 'solved'|date=13 September 2009 |accessdate=14 November 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301070033/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8248334.stm| archive-date=1 March 2023| url-status=live}}</ref> Eric Newton, an air accident investigator who reviewed the case of ''Star Ariel'', concluded such an occurrence could have become quickly catastrophic: "If the heater had caught fire down below the floorboards then it could have developed to a catastrophic state before the crew knew anything about it. There was no automatic fire extinguisher to put it out like there is nowadays. There was no alarm where the heater was stored... so no-one would know, possibly until it was too late."<ref name="BBCExamination" />

== See also ==
<!--do not add wikilinks already in the article-->
*[[1947 BSAA Avro Lancastrian Star Dust accident|BSAA ''Star Dust'' accident]], crashed on 2 August 1947

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book | last = Ministry of Civil Aviation | title = Report of the loss of Tudor IVb Star Ariel G-AGRE | publisher = [[HMSO]] | year = 1949 | location = London }}
*{{cite book | last = Job | first =  MacArthur |author2=Juanita Franzi | title = Air Disaster (Vol. 4: The Propeller Era) | publisher = Australian Aviation | year = 2001 | isbn = 1-875671-48-X}}
*{{cite book | last = Brookes | first = Andrew | title = Disaster in the Air | publisher = Howell Press | year = 1994 | isbn = 0-7110-2037-X}}
*{{cite book | last = Orange | first = Vincent | title = Coningham: a biography of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham | publisher = DIANE Publishing | year = 1992 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QbRn5MwhlWcC | isbn = 1-4289-9280-4}}
*{{cite book | last = Ottaway | first = Susan |author2=Ottaway, Ian | title = Fly With the Stars: British South American Airways – The Rise and Controversial Fall of a Long-Haul Trailblazer | publisher = Sutton Publishing | year = 2007 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=c4-mHAAACAAJ | isbn = 978-0-7509-4448-9}}

==External links==
* [http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Coates/1422.htm A picture of ''Star Ariel'']
*[https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19490117-1 Aviation Safety network]
* [http://www.bermuda-triangle.org/Star_Ariel_Report.pdf "Civil Aircraft Accident – Report on the Loss of TUDOR VB (sic) STAR ARIEL G-AGRE which disappeared on a flight between Bermuda and Kingston Jamaica on 17th January 1949"] – the Official Accident Report (PDF)

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1949}}
{{Bermuda Triangle}}
{{Avro Lancaster family}}

[[Category:1940s missing person cases]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1949]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Avro Tudor]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:British South American Airways accidents and incidents|19490117]]
[[Category:Bermuda Triangle]]
[[Category:Missing aircraft]]
[[Category:January 1949 in North America]]