Handley Page H.P.12

The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing due to fuel exhaustion. The aircraft was destroyed and there were no casualties.

Shortly after takeoff from Cricklewood Airport in misty weather, the aircraft was seen flying low and then crashed into a tree, falling into a back garden of a house in Golders Green (No. 6 Basing Hill) close to the airfield. Four passengers jumped or were thrown clear before the aircraft burst into flames. Both crew members and two remaining passengers were killed in the fire. Of the survivors, two were unhurt and the other two only slightly injured. Locals rushed to help but due to the intense heat, the rescue efforts were futile. The Hendon Fire Brigade extinguished the fire and removed the bodies. The aircraft was destroyed and the newly built house was badly damaged.
Crew:
Maj R. W. Bager, pilot,
J. H. Williams, mechanic.

At 06.50 pm the Handley Page O/400, G-EAKE, departed for the last time from Kjeller and despite the strong winds it climbed to its cruising altitude at 2,440 metres (8,000 feet). The average speed that day was 100 kmh. Donovan explained Mrs Meisterlin under the first leg of the trip how they would fly to Karlstad and Stockholm. They crossed the Norwegian-Swedish border at 7.35 pm and Arvika at 7.55 pm. The clouds were by now getting thicker and at 8.25 pm they flew above Karlstad in 1,000 metres. They looked for Hallvard Næss and his Norman Thompson N.T.2B flying boat N-13, but in vein. He was delayed. At 9 pm they cross a landscape with thousands of tree and no possibility for an emergency landing. By now it was dark and only the fire coming from the exhaust pipe lighted up the sky. At 9.50 pm they flew above the large lake Mälaren and could enjoy a beautiful view. Donovan said, “Thumbs up – Stockholm!”, when at 11.20 pm a large city was in sight. But instead of going down, the Handley Page O/400 continued in the eastern direction and ended up above the lovely archipelago north of Stockholm. They started to fly around in circles and Donovan said, “I think they have lost themselves”. It was now decided to find as soon as possible a suitable landing site and finally the crew found a field that looked good enough. They flew in low altitude above houses and fields and finally land safely in a cornfield. Sergeant Rogers thought that the field was a regular meadow, but it turned out to be a cornfield. The aircraft suffered no damages. The following day the crew together Captain Meisterlin returned to the field where sergeant Rogers the night before had landed. The aircraft looked undamaged and therefore it was decided to start that day and proceed to Stockholm and the original landing site at Häsgerstalund. The owner of the manor gathered some local workers, who would help plough a lane through the cornfield. The lane was 5 metres wide and 300 metres long. At 3 pm the “runway” was ready and crew and passengers boarded the plane after thanking the hosts for the hospitality. Rogers switched on the engines and slowly the aircraft started on its take-off. It was however soon clear that the lane was not wide enough and that the two metres high corn touched the wings making the aircraft unstable. Sergeant Rogers tried to keep the aircraft straight, failed to do so and instead he tried to lift the aircraft from the field. By now the corn had twisted itself into the undercarriage and the aircraft crashed on its noose, tipping nearly completely around. Some were thrown out of the aircraft, while others were trapped into the fuselage. After the crash Sergeant Rogers shouted to turn off the petrol in order to avoid fire. Lieutenant Gottenborg managed to get out of the aircraft and ran to Captain Meisterlin, Donovan and Sergeant Rogers in order to free them. Donovan was the one with the worst injuries. He had burns in his face and on its hands and was in great pain. He managed to get out by himself. To get out Captain Meisterlin and Sergeant Rogers from the wreckage help was needed from the local workers. Sergeant Rogers’s leg injury (from the motor cycle accident in Norway) had worsened and he and Donovan were taken by stretcher to the ambulance and driven to the hospital in Östanå. Fortunately Dr. Nicolaysen was not hurt and could offer first aid. Mrs Meisterlin and Lieutenant Gottenborg were all unhurt and the journalist Qviller had broken his arm. Finally, the aircraft was now a total wreck and was damaged beyond repair. The flight to Stockholm and København was subsequently cancelled.
Crew:
Sergeant W. Rogers, pilot
Mr. Donovan, mechanic.
Observers: Captain Wilhelm Meisterlin and Lieutenant Brynjulf Gottenborg.
Passengers:
Dr. Nicolaysen,
Mrs Astrid Meisterlin
Mr. Haakon Qviller, journalist by the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.

Source:
Rob Mulder - www.europeanairlines.no

The twin engine aircraft departed Khartoum on a flight to Cairo. En route, the airplane suffered a structural failure and crashed near Abu Hamad, about 450 km north of Khartoum, bursting into flames. All four occupants were killed.
Crew:
F/O John Barclay Jaques,
F/O Desmond Wilkie Sibley,
Sgt Edmund West Wadey,
AC2 Reginald Colin Meldrum.

Crashed on takeoff. Crew faite unknown.

The crew was completing one of the first trans-Africa flight from UK to South Africa. En route from Aswan to Khartoum, while cruising at an altitude of 7,800 feet, the airplane suffered oscillations and vibrations. The crew shut down both engines and elected to make an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed in a desert area located 10 km north of Shereik. All four crew evacuated safely and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The aircraft departed London on a flight to Cairo, carrying four crew members. In Paris, one passenger, Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence (awa Lawrence of Arabia) embarked to fly to Cairo after taking part to the 1919 Peace Conference in Paris. While approaching Rome-Centocelle Airport at dusk, the pilot encountered limited visibility and attempted a go-around procedure when the aircraft clipped a tree and crashed upside down. Both pilots were killed and three other occupants were injured.
Crew:
2nd Lt Frederick George Prince, pilot, †
2nd Lt Sydney Spratt, pilot, †
Aircraftman F. J. Daw +1.
Passenger:
Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence.

The twin engine airplane was engaged in a night training flight over the British Isles. While taking off by night from Andover Airfield, the aircraft encountered difficulties and crashed on a building, bursting into flames. Two passengers were seriously injured while five other occupants were killed.
Crew:
Maj Thomas Archibald Batchelor, †
Flt Lt Reginald Arthur Walter Adkins, †
Lt Arthur Barlow Whiteside, †
Flt Sgt Horace Henry Heales, †
Cpl Edgar George Ward, †
Lt Edward Albert Westall,
Flt Sgt Herbert William Smith.

The twin engine airplane was returning to Castle Bromwich following an aerial photography mission. Upon landing, the pilot encountered strong crosswinds when the aircraft slipped into the ground, crashed and came to rest with its nose stuck in the ground. All five occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crashed on a river bank near Elizabeth, NJ, following an engine failure.