Subject: Re: Gordon Corps

From: Pete Mellor <[email-masked]>
Date: 08 Dec 92 15:51:14 PST

Edwin, 

> Can you provide me with any more details on the death of Gordon Corps.

The following appeared in The Guardian, Saturday, August 15th 1992, p26:- 

                        Triple Tragedy in Nepal
                        ----------------------- 

              Bill Raeper, Martin Hoftun, Gordon Corps

[Helen Kidd provided an obituary of Bill Raeper and Martin Hoftun, two 
 British writers who were passengers on the Thai Airbus which crashed in 
 the Himalayas on July 31st, killing all on board. Norman Barfield wrote 
 the following about Gordon Corps.] 

Gordon Corps, one of Britain's most distinguished and accomplished test 
pilots, has died of mountain sickness in Nepal, aged 62. He was acting 
as deputy flight safety director with a team of Airbus Industrie on its 
way from Katmandu to investigate the Thai Airways crash on the Talkuassir 
mountain at 11,500ft. 

He was a graduate of the de Havilland Aeronautical Technical School, 
Hatfield, and his career took him to the RAF, to the Armament and Aircraft 
Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down, and then to the Air 
Registration Board. He became chief test pilot to the Civil Aviation 
Authority in 1980. 

The development of major European commercial aircraft is now in the hands 
of the Airbus Industrie consortium and Gordon Corps took the significant 
step of joining AI in Toulouse in 1982 as an engineering test pilot. In 
the intervening 10 years, he has been involved in flight-testing the 
Airbus A310, A300-600 and A320 airliner family, with special responsibility 
for flying qualities. 

                        ----------------------- 

I'm sorry. That is all the information I have. 

Peter Mellor, Centre for Software Reliability, City University, Northampton 
Sq., London EC1V 0HB, Tel: +44(0)71-477-8422, JANET: [email-masked] 
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From: Pete Mellor <[email-masked]>
Date: 09 Dec 92 18:45:32 PST

Ed, 

> Thanks for the information. 

You're very welcome. I forgot to add the following footnote from the 
obituary in The Guardian: 

Gordon Corps, born November 11, 1929; died August 4, 1992. 

(At least this tells you the precise date of his death. I do not know 
why it took so long for the obituary to appear.) 

Pete