Reginald Cook, pictured, was flying from London to Santiago in Chile for the first time as Captain when his Avro Lancastrian aircraft disappeared over the Andes
The family of a pilot whose body was entombed in ice for 50 years following a mystery plane crash in the Andes have sold his wartime medals for almost £17,000.
Reginald Cook was killed along with 10 others when the passenger plane he was flying crashed into a snow-capped mountain in 1947.
Nothing was found of the wreckage until 51 years later when two mountaineers stumbled upon the Rolls-Royce engine of the converted Avro-Lancastrian bomber called ‘Star Dust’.
It was another two years after that the remains of five of the victims – including Flight Lieutenant Cook – were found preserved in glacial ice.
He was buried in his home town of Melbourne, Derbyshire, in 2005, 58 years after his death.
An investigation into the crash by the Ministry of Civil Aviation found this was the ninth time Captain Cook had attempted to cross the Andes – although this was the first time he was in command of the aircraft.
The crash investigators – working without any wreckage or eyewitnesses – determined that weather during the flight was poor.
The report said Captain Cook was briefed before leaving London and again at Buenos Aries that he should not attempt the direct route to Santiago if the weather was bad. Instead he should choose a route either to the north or to the south.
The probe discovered Captain Cook decided to take the shortest route between Buenos Aries and Santiago, Chile.
An investigation subsequently found a heavy snowstorm and thick cloud had caused the British South American Airways plane to crash.
Reginald Cook was flying an Avro Lancastrian plane across the Andes in 1947, similar to this, when he crashed into a mountain on the side of a mountain in Argentina while en-route to Santiago in Chile
During World War II, Cook was a decorated pilot, receiving the Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross and Distinguished Flying Medal
Shortly before hitting the 22,000ft high peak, the radio operator contacted air traffic control claiming the aircraft would be landing within four minutes.
However, the plane had still not crossed the Andes and was still on the Argentinian side of the border – more than half an hour away from touchdown.
It is likely the aircraft encountered a very strong headwind which dramatically slowed its progress and unable to see the ground, the pilot and crew were unaware of the mortal danger they faced.
On board the aircraft at the time was a diplomatic courier carrying a top secret message to the British Embassy in Santiago, a German national – considered by some to be a spy, and a Palestinian who was thought to be smuggling a large diamond inside his suit.
One conspiracy theory even claimed the aircraft crashed as it was carrying a large cargo of gold.
As well as 44-year-old Cook, his first officer Norman Hilton, 39, radiotelegraph operator Dennis Harmer, 27, second officer Donald Checklin, 27 and flight attendant Iris Evans, 34, were also killed.
Captain Cook’s descendants decided to auction off his impressive group of medals he won as an RAF flyer in the Second World War.
He was one of only 18 men to receive the prestigious trio of the Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross and Distinguished Flying Medal during the war.
The medals achieved a hammer price of £13,000 but with fees added on the anonymous buyer paid £16,700 for them.
50 years after he crashed, some wreckage of Cook’s aircraft was discovered in the Andes
Among the wreckage, was part of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine
The bodies of several of the crew were recovered by Argentine military after the aircraft was spotted despite being missing for almost half a century
Oliver Pepys, associate director and medal auctioneer at Dix Noonan Webb, described F/Lt Cook’s medal set as ’emotive and rare’.
He said: ‘This is an important and rare combination of awards, which is one of only 18 D.S.O., D.F.C., and D.F.M. combinations of gallantry awarded to the Royal Air Force for the Second World War.
‘Not only did Cook have an illustrious wartime career but the continuing intrigue around the mystery of the disappearance of Star Dust undoubtedly attracted interest.’
F/Lt Cook first served in the RAF’s 15 Squadron and was a navigator in Short Stirling bombers.
He guided numerous bombing raids over Nazi targets in France and Germany, in particular aerodromes and enemy warships at Brest.
An accident report found weather at the time over the Andes was very poor
It is believed Captain Cook may have strayed into the jet stream – which was not known about in 1947 – which dramatically reduced his ground speed meaning the crew thought they were further along their journey than they anticipated
He then retrained as a pilot and entered 608 Squadron and flew Mosquito light bombers in the ‘Light Night Striking Force’.
The aircraft carried out fast, hit-and-run bombing raids on Germany, particularly the sustained offensive on Berlin at the end of the war.
F/Lt Cook’s highest decoration was the DSO which he was awarded after completing three operational tours – over 50 sorties – all over enemy territory.
After the war he was recruited by former Air Vice Marshal Don Bennett, the general manager at British South American Airways which flew passengers from Hurn Airport, near Bournemouth, to South America and the Caribbean via Lisbon.
F/Lt Cook initially flew as a co-pilot and completed eight trips before being given command of his own plane in July 1947.
Less than a month later, at 1.46pm on August 2, 1947, F/Lt Cook took off in Star Dust on a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Santiago, Chile.
The last contact with the flight was at 5.41pm when a radio operator at Santiago received a Morse code message from Star Dust, stating an ETA of 5.45pm.
Investigations later concluded F/Lt Cook got caught in a jet stream at high altitude which carried the airliner slightly off-path so that he thought he was clear of the Andes, when he had yet to cross them.
Star Dust crashed head on into a near-vertical glacier on the side of the Mount Tupungato, causing an avalanche that buried the aircraft.
What happened to Star Dust and why did the aircraft, with a highly experienced crew crash into the side of a mountain?
At 13.46 on August 2, 1947, Reginald Cook took off from Buenos Aires to Santiago in Chile with six passengers and four crew on board an Avro Lancastrian.
The four-engined aircraft, which was built in 1945 was converted from a bomber into a passenger aircraft and was purchased by the British South American Airways Corporation.
Cook was a highly experienced war time pilot, with more than 150 hours in a Lancaster bomber. After joining BSAAC in May 1946, he quickly gained more than 520 hours experience, though only 40 hours a captain of a Lancastrian.
According to the flight plan, Cook was planing to route via Mendoza before crossing the mountains, though he was warned both in London and Buenos Aires to avoid that route if the weather was bad
The 632-mile flight was due to take three hours and 45 minutes and would see them cross the Andes before dropping into Santiago.
According to the flight plan, Cook was planing to route via Mendoza before crossing the mountains, though he was warned both in London and Buenos Aires to avoid that route if the weather was bad.
Just over two hours into the flight, the aircraft reported it was flying at 10,000 feet at 196kts following a course of 286 degrees.
At 4pm, the aircraft was still at 10,000 feet and at 196kts but had altered course slightly to 282.
At 5pm, the aircraft announced it was at 20,000 feet, rising to 24,000 and flying at 194kts.
The crew were approximately 130 miles from Santiago and at that speed should be arriving in approximately 34 minutes.
At 5.33pm, the crew sent a message to Air Traffic Control in Santiago that they were due to arrive at 5.45pm.
Then, at 5.41pm, the crew sent their final message confirming their 5.45 arrival time.
The accident report believes the aircraft ‘crashed with 40 miles eastward of Santiago’ between 5.41 and 5.45pm.
The aircraft crashed into the 22,000ft high Mount Tupungato – which was still some 50 miles away from the city and with 30 miles of treacherous mountain terrain ahead.
When giving their final radio message, the flight crew believed they were the far side of the Andes – but a strong headwind had slowed them down by at least 17kts.
The crew believed they had a ground speed of 194kts when they were only averaging about 173kts.
According to the official report, there were snow storms in the Andes Mountains with ‘moderate to intense turbulence’.
The report said: ‘Conditions for the flight Visual Contact with the ground up to Mendoza: conditions in he passes unfit for visual contact or instrument flying’.
The experts said ‘it is very doubtful whether at Mendoza the pilot could have seen the ground by visual observation at all’.
However, in the opinion of Air Commodore Vernon Brown, Chief Inspector of Accidents: ‘Through lack of evidence due to no wreckage having being found the actual cause of the accident remains obscure. The possibility of severe icing cannot be ignored.’