Hampshire

Crashed while landing off Calshot. There were no injuries but the aircraft was lost.

The crew was performing a local training flight at RAF Odiham. The approach was completed in strong winds and with a relative low speed. On final, the left wing stalled and struck the ground. The airplane nosed down, struck the ground and crashed in a field located about 2,5 miles short of runway. All three crew members were unhurt while the airplane was damaged beyond repair.

The crew was engaged in a local training mission out from Farnborough. Shortly after takeoff, the crew encountered technical problems with the undercarriage. As the airplane failed to gain sufficient height, it struck tree tops and crashed in a wooded area. Both crew members were killed.

The aircraft was on a trooping flight from Blackbushe Airport to Idris in Tripoli and was carrying a crew of four, one supernumerary crew as passenger and thirty passengers. A few seconds after 2214LT the aircraft was observed to make its run and to take off. At 2216, it called the control tower and passed the following message, "I have got a port engine failure I am making a left-hand circuit to come in again". Having completed the downwind and base legs of this circuit, the aircraft crashed in a wood just as, or just after, it had turned onto the final approach and at a distance of about 1 200 yards from the threshold of the runway. Thirty-four of the thirty-five persons on board lost their lives.

The aircraft was flying under charter to the Air Ministry and had flown from Idris Airport, Tripoli with a crew of 6 and 74 passengers, nearly all members of servicemen's families. Shortly before midnight, on landing at Blackbushe in poor visibility, the aircraft undershot the runway, hit a beech tree 3,617 feet short of the threshold, swung sharply to port, came down among pine trees about 3,000 feet from the beech tree and caught fire. Three crew members were killed by the impact and four children lost their lives due to fire.

The aircraft took off from London Airport at 0755LT on a training flight, which was part of a routine base check being carried out by a training captain on a line captain. Having completed the first part of the check the aircraft landed at Blackbushe. At approximately 0850LT a takeoff was commenced from this airport for another exercise. On reaching the takeoff safety speed the training captain simulated a starboard outer engine failure. At this point the aircraft was just leaving the ground and as it did so the starboard inner propeller was seen to be stopping and the aircraft began turning to the right with an increasing amount of bank. It rose to about 30 feet and then descended and hit the ground at a point 250 yards from the runway in a steeply banked, nose-down attitude. It cartwheeled, slid along the ground backwards for 200 yards and came to rest just inside the northwest boundary of the aerodrome. The aircraft sustained major impact damage and fire broke out which almost completely destroyed it. The five occupants escaped with only slight injuries.

While overflying the Isle of Wight, enroute from Jersey to Blackbushe, the pilot encountered technical problems with both engines that lost power. He reduced his altitude and ditched the aircraft on the Solent, off Calshot. While the aircraft sank and was lost, all 11 occupants were quickly rescued by the crew of a yacht and then transferred to shore.

Before leaving Cardiff (Rhoose) Airport the pilot filed a Visual Flight Rules flight plan giving an elapsed time of 35 minutes for the flight to Eastleigh Airport, Southampton at a cruising altitude of 5,500 feet and then on to Paris. The aircraft took off at 0925LT carrying the pilot and 6 passengers. At approximately 0950LT he called London, asked for clearance to Southampton Zone and was told to call Southampton Zone. He then acknowledged this request. Shortly after 0950 the engines became unsynchronized and the aircraft vibrated. The port propeller stopped rotating and the aircraft lost height. On reaching 200 feet the port engine was restarted and the aircraft flew very low over a line of high tension cables. It continued to fly at 200 feet at low speed with increased vibration over undulating country and after climbing slightly to clear a ridge it descended into a densely wooded area. When near the tree tops it banked to the left and the port wing tip struck a tree. The aircraft then traveled 400 yards further, struck the tops of several trees and crashed, killing the pilot and seriously injuring 4 passengers.

The crew was engaged in a test flight on behalf of the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) and departed Farnborough for RAF Lyneham. Enroute, a technical failure occurred on the right engine that caught fire. The pilot-in-command reduced his altitude, contacted ATC and elected to make an emergency landing. After passing Chibolton and while descending through the last cloud layer, the starboard wing was on fire. While attempting to land, the airplane hit a tree and crashed in flames. The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed.
Crew:
W/Cdr K. J. Sewell,
F/Lt D. B. James,
F/Lt J. C. Crouch.

Shortly after takeoff from RAF Middle Wallop, an engine failed. The aircraft stalled and crash landed in a field located one mile west of the airfield. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and the pilot, sole on board, was unhurt.