Avro 504

The pilot, sole on board, departed Madrid-Getafe Airport on a flight to Ceuta. After passing Marbella, he lost control of the airplane that crashed in the sea some 400 metres offshore. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot Reginald Truelove was killed.

Shortly after takeoff from Epsom Downs, the aircraft collided with telephone wires and crashed. All three occupants were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The engine failed in flight, forcing the pilot to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft crashed on a pile of manure and was destroyed. The pilot was uninjured.

The crew was performing a training flight out from RAF Cranwell. En route, while completing aerobatics manoeuvres, control was lost and the single engine spiraled to the ground. During the fall, both pilots abandoned the aircraft and bailed out. The aircraft crashed in a field and was destroyed while both pilots were uninjured.

The pilot departed RAF Cranwell on a local solo training flight. En route, he lost control of the airplane that dove in the ground and crashed in Fulbeck, some 6 km west of the airbase. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot Flt Cadet Hugh Leslie James Bertram was killed.

The crew departed RAF Digby on a training mission. En route, while completing a turn, the crew lost control of the airplane that stalled and crashed in a pasture. F/O Stewart Sinclair Mackay was killed and AC2 Josiah Swain was injured.

The pilot, sole on board, departed Glasgow-Renfrew Airport on a local training mission. En route, the Avro collided with an RAF Westland Wapiti registered J9603 and crashed between the villages of Kilmacolm and Port Glasgow. The pilot George Christopher was killed.

Crashed for unknown reasons while taking off from Shanklin. The pilot was injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The pilot Richard Lush and the passenger Stanley Rodwell, a photographer, were involved in aerial filming of a feature film called 'The Flying Fool'. In unknown circumstances, the single engine aircraft went out of control and crashed in the garden of a house located in Brixton. Both occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

On the afternoon of Sunday, January 25th, 1931, an Avro 504K (serial G-AACW) crashed about 1/4 mile from Gatwick aerodrome, killing the pilot and both passengers. The airplane was a wartime machine originally manufactured under licence by G. Parnell & Coy Ltd, and had been completely rebuilt by Southern Aircraft Ltd in the spring of 1929. At the time of the last flight the airplane was not equipped with dual control, a false floor having been fitted over the control column socket and the rudder bar of the rear cockpit. The pilot, Mr. W. J. Martin, had started to learn to fly at Shoreham in February 1929, and made his first solo flight in June 1930, at which time he had received about 12 hours dual instruction. He qualified for his private licence five weeks later. Up to the day of the accident his total solo flying time was nearly 200 hours. Martin was not very experienced in aerobatics, although a few days before the accident a friend had demonstrated to him how to execute slow rolls. The first 10 minutes or so of the flight were occupied in carrying out a demonstration in which a number of machines took part and during which nothing in the nature of aerobatics was attempted. Instead of landing at the conclusion of this demonstration, the pilot climbed to a height between 1500 and 2000 feet, and then executed a maneuver which, to all expert witnesses, appeared to be an abortive attempt to roll and which developed into a spinning nosedive. Twice during its descent, G-AACW ceased to spin and momentarily assumed a straight gliding altitude, only to start spinning in the opposite direction. No one actually witnessed the crash, but the airplane had not recovered from the spin when it disappeared below the tree tops. The two passengers who died were named as Mr. S. J. W. Meathrel and Mr. L. H. Irving-Bell (Ground Engineer).
Source: www.sussexhistoryforum.co.uk