A BRITISH passenger plane found in the Andes this week more than 50 years after it crashed was made in Yeadon.

The converted Avro Lancastrian discovered by climbers 16,500 ft up the south face of the 20,000ft Mount Tupungato in Argentina, was found with the fully-clothed bodies of four people - preserved in the ice and snow by the permanently freezing temperatures.

The British South American Airways plane - the Star Dust - crashed after disappearing during a storm on a scheduled flight from London to the Chilean capital Santiago on August 2, 1947.

According to records, eight Britons were among the 11 people on board - three of the six passengers and all five of the crew. All have been listed as missing, presumed dead, since the plane went down.

Gerald Myers, from Tranmere Park, whose book 'Mother worked at Avro' told the story of the Avro Factory at Yeadon, said of the six Lancastrian bombers converted for civilian flights at Yeadon, four of them crashed.

He said: "The Star Dust was one of six converted to type at the Avro's huge factory at Yeadon during late 1945 and the early months of 1946. All saw service with the BSAA, three sharing a similar fate, albeit in different locations to Star Dust."

Mr Myers said travelling by air in the few years after the war until the arrival of proper civilian aircraft was a dangerous business.

"We tend to forget how risky air travel was in those days just after the war. These were just Lancaster bombers with their gun turrets removed and with 13 seats for passengers put in. There would have been considerable discomfort. The planes were not pressurised like they are now and they would have been extremely noisy.

"They were really makeshift aircraft for the five or six years until civil aircraft came into use and a lot of people must have travelled in considerable discomfort."

Mr Myers, who is busy planning celebrations to mark this year's 60th anniversary of the opening of the Avro Factory, added: "It is fascinating that the plane has been found but also rather sad. But at least the bodies can be laid to rest."

The find in the Andes has been described by experts as a unique piece of aviation history. Historians say the Lancastrian would be the only one of the 95 that were built still in existence.

The fuselage appears to have shattered into small pieces on impact, but a propeller, a piece of wing and an oxygen cannister were in 'near perfect' condition.

Harry Holmes, from the Avro Heritage Group, said it was a very special find, especially since it included bodies preserved in the snow.

He said air travel at the time was only for the wealthy and for business people who needed to fly for work.

The wreckage was discovered by an expedition which originally spotted it last year but were forced to abandon the search because of bad weather.

An Argentine judge has ordered DNA tests to be carried out on the bodies to determine their identities. It will be for the judge to decide whether efforts should be made to retrieve the bodies.

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