Many thanks for this article to Brian Carpenter of the Devon Heritage Centre
New book relives the drama
Where were you on July 17, 1980? Even if you were
not in Ottery St Mary on that fateful day in July 1980, you will no doubt have
seen the national news headlines. A Viscount airliner returning from Santander
ran out of fuel on its approach to Exeter and, with a full payload of passengers
and crew, narrowly missed the town of Ottery St Mary and made a forced landing
in a field nearby.
There was much
publicity and speculation at the time, but the full story has never been told –
until now! A new book ‘Mayday in July’ by Jim Rider is published
by the Ottery St Mary Heritage Society.
Local author Jim
Rider has spent many months researching and writing his remarkable story, set
in the last days of one of Great Britain's magnificent airliners, the 'Vickers Viscount'.
His story follows the bizarre
circumstances that caused a routine flight from Santander to the UK to end in
near disaster in a farmer's field.
Meticulously
researched and full of lively detail, the Viscount's final flight is re-created
and set in the context of the lives of those who were there at the time, along
with a cast of characters with whom you can share the fateful final journey of
G-ARBY, minute by minute, from Santander to that dramatic unscheduled landing
outside Ottery St Mary.
From the
heart-stopping moment of realisation that the plane was not going to reach
Exeter Airport, you will be in the cockpit with Captain Geoff Whittaker - the
pilot whose job it was to do the near impossible – and alongside the passengers
in the cabin, every one of them looking death in the face. Miraculously, all 62
passengers and crew survived unharmed.
The story covers
events before, during and after the day of the crash-landing on July 17th 1980,
bringing to life the impact of a high profile event of national significance on
the lives of local people caught up in the drama.
Jim Rider’s
first book is the culmination of two years of research into one of East Devon’s
landmark historical events. With an agile mix of wit and detailed reportage, he
catches perfectly the drama of those few days over thirty years ago that put
Ottery St Mary briefly into the headlines.
For orders and enquiries please ring. The Curious Otter Bookshop, 10
Mill Street, Ottery St Mary EX11 1AD on 01404 814469.
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