Crash of a Stinson SM-1 Detroiter in the Atlantic Ocean: 2 killed

Date & Time: Sep 7, 1927
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
London - Harbour Grace - London
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
Named 'Sir John Carling', this Stinson Detroiter was owned by the Canadian company Carling Breweries that financed this nonstop transatlantic flight from London (Ontario) to London, UK. The crew consisted of both pilots Jerry Tully and Elsie James Medcalf. They departed London that day and made a technical stop in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, before continuing to England. The aircraft disappeared en route and was never recovered.

Crash of a Fokker F7a in the Atlantic Ocean: 3 killed

Date & Time: Aug 31, 1927
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
G-EBTQ
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Upavon - Ottawa
MSN:
5023
YOM:
1927
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The Princess Anne Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg was engaged in a transatlantic flight from Upavon to Ottawa, Canada, and provided this aircraft named 'Saint Raphael' that was piloted by an Imperial Airways crew. The airplane departed Upavon Airport, Wiltshire, at 0732LT and continued its route to the west. It was spotted over Ireland and later by the crew of a tanker cruising in the North Atlantic ocean. As the single engine aircraft never arrived in Ottawa, SAR operations were initiated but no trace of the aircraft nor its occupants was ever found. It is believed that the aircraft crashed in the ocean off Newfoundland.
Crew:
Frederick Minchin, pilot,
Leslie Hamilton, radio.
Passenger:
Princess Anne Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg.

Crash of a Buhl CA-5 Air Sedan in the Pacific Ocean: 3 killed

Date & Time: Aug 16, 1927
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
NC2915
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Oakland - Honolulu
MSN:
10
YOM:
1927
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The crew was taking part to the 'Dole Race' prize between Oakland and Honolulu. Ten minutes after takeoff, the crew returned to Oakland due to technical problems. The second departure was performed without any problems few minutes later and has been approved. Named 'Miss Doran', the aircraft never arrived in Honolulu and was lost without trace in the Pacific Ocean. All efforts to find the aircraft and its crew were unsuccessful.
Crew:
Auggy Pedlar, pilot,
Vilas R. Knope, navigator.
Passenger:
Mrs. Mildred Doran.

Crash of a Lockheed 1 Vega in the Pacific Ocean: 2 killed

Date & Time: Aug 16, 1927
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
NX913
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Oakland - Honolulu
MSN:
1
YOM:
1927
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew was taking part to the 'Dole Race' between Oakland and Honolulu. The aircraft departed Oakland Airport in the morning but never arrived at destination. It was lost without trace in the Pacific Ocean. The aircraft was named 'Golden Eagle'.
Crew:
Jack Frost, pilot,
Gordon Scott, navigator.

Crash of a Levasseur PL.8 in the Atlantic Ocean: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 9, 1927
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
L'Oiseau Blanc
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Paris - New York
MSN:
PL.8-01
YOM:
1927
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
Named L'Oiseau Blanc, the aircraft took off at 0517LT on 8 May 1927 from Paris-Le Bourget Airport, heading for New York with two French aviators on board: Charles Nungesser and François Coli. They tried to make the first transatlantic non stop flight from Paris to New York counting for the Orteig Prize. The biplane weighed 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) on takeoff, extremely heavy for a single-engined aircraft. The intended flight path was a great circle route, which would have taken them across the English Channel, over the southwestern part of England and Ireland, across the Atlantic to Newfoundland, then south over Nova Scotia, to Boston, and finally to a water landing in New York. L'Oiseau Blanc had been carrying a sizable load of fuel, 4,000 liters (1,056.7 US gal), which would have given them approximately 42 hours of flight time. Crowds of people gathered in New York to witness the historic arrival, with tens of thousands of people crowding Battery Park in Manhattan to have a good view of the Statue of Liberty, where the aircraft was scheduled to touch down. After their estimated time of arrival had passed, with no word as to the aircraft's fate, it was realized that the aircraft had been lost. Rumors circulated that L'Oiseau Blanc had been sighted along its route, in Newfoundland, or over Long Island, and despite the launch of an international search, further search efforts were eventually abandoned on 09JUN1927. As of 2008, the landing gear is the only confirmed part of the L'Oiseau Blanc remaining, and is on display at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (French Air and Space Museum), in Le Bourget Airport in Paris, the location from which L'Oiseau Blanc took off. This landing gear was dropped by the crew shortly after takeoff from Le Bourget.

Crash of a Farman F.61 Goliath in the Atlantic Ocean: 4 killed

Date & Time: May 5, 1927
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
F-ADFN
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Saint Louis - Recife
MSN:
22
YOM:
1921
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
Originally, the flight was supposed to be performed with a Farman F.121 Jabiru but it was not ready for this mission, so an old Farman F.61 Goliath was delivered to the team. With two new engines and floats, the airplane departed Saint Louis (Senegal) at 0715LT bound for Recife, Pernambouc. The aircraft named 'France Amérique Latine' never arrived at destination and SAR operations were initiated. They were eventually abandoned as no trace from the aircraft nor the crew was found. Brazilian fishermen found a wheel of the aircraft on 18JUN1927 but this was the only element ever found.
Crew:
Lt de Vaisseau Hervé de Mouneyrès,
Ens de Vaisseau Coeffin,
Mr. Petit, mechanic,
Cpt Jacques de Serre.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.30 in The Channel

Date & Time: Oct 21, 1926 at 1315 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-EBMS
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Croydon – Paris
MSN:
W.10/3
YOM:
1925
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
10
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Named 'Prince Henry', the aircraft departed Croydon Airport at 1245LT on a regular schedule service to Paris-Le Bourget. While overflying The Channel, the right engine lost power. The pilot attempted to make an emergency landing in the sea some 33 km off the British coast. In a slight nose-up attitude, the aircraft ditched into sea at 1315LT. All 12 occupants took refuge on the roof and the tail and were later rescued by the crew of two fishing vessels, one of them named 'Invicta'. Mail and cargo (platinum) were salvaged and bring back to Folkestone. The only casualty was a Pommeranian dog belonging to one of the women passengers.
Probable cause:
Engine failure.

Crash of a Breguet 14T bis in The Channel: 1 killed

Date & Time: May 31, 1926
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
F-ADAI
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Paris - Croydon
MSN:
1908
YOM:
1921
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
While on a mail flight from Paris to Croydon, the aircraft disappeared in The Channel. SAR operations were initiated but no trace of the aircraft nor the pilot Xavier R. A. de Masin was found.

Crash of a Dornier Do J Wal in the North Pole

Date & Time: May 21, 1926
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
N-24
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Ny-Ålesund - North Pole
MSN:
36
YOM:
1925
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was taking part to an expedition to the North Pole on behalf of the program of the Norwegian Scientist Roald Amundsen. The airplane departed Ny-Ålesund, in the Svalbard Archipelago, on a flight to the North Pole. After a flight of eight hours, the crew encountered engine problems and completed a safe landing on the ice. It is believed that the aircraft encountered problems on takeoff and landing as well. As the fuselage was damaged, it was decided to abandon the aircraft on the ice and the crew later returned to Norway with another Dornier Do J Wal registered N-25.
Crew:
Leif Ragnar Dietrichson, pilot,
Lincoln Ellsworth, navigator,
Oskar Omdal, mechanic.
Probable cause:
Engine problem.

Crash of a Vickers 61 Vulcan in the Mediterranean Sea: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 7, 1926
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
G-EBEM
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
5
YOM:
1922
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a special flight from Brooklands to North Africa. While cruising off the Italian coast, the single engine aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in the Mediterranean Sea. SAR were initiated but no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found.