Croydon | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

Shortly after a night takeoff from Croydon Airport, the three engine aircraft went out of control and crashed onto a hangar. All three crew members were killed.

Crash of an Airspeed AS.5 Courier in Doncaster: 4 killed

Date & Time: May 29, 1937

Type of aircraft:

Airspeed AS.5 Courier

Operator:

Registration:

G-ACSZ

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Doncaster – Croydon

MSN:

YOM:

1934

Location:

Finningley AFB (Doncaster)

South Yorkshire

Country:

United Kingdom

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Doncaster Airport, while climbing, the single engine aircraft went out of control and crashed in a huge explosion. Three passengers and the pilot were killed while two passengers were seriously injured.
Crew:
Irwell R. Jones. †
Passengers:
Henry Betts, †
Felix Burns, †
Arthur Joseph Henman, †
Ronald Batty,
Eric Reaney.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.86 Express in Elsdorf: 3 killed

Date & Time: Mar 15, 1937 at 2320 LT

Type of aircraft:

De Havilland DH.86 Express

Operator:

Registration:

G-ACVZ

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Croydon – Cologne

MSN:

2303

YOM:

1934

Location:

Elsdorf

North Rhine-Westphalia

Country:

Germany

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The four engine aircraft departed Croydon Airport for Cologne at 2130LT with no mail on board. At 2258LT, while overflying Belgium, the radio navigator informed ATC he was flying in good visibility with no icing conditions. Descending to Cologne-Butzweilerhof Airport, the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in Elsdorf, some 42 km northwest of the airport. All three occupants were killed.
Crew:
C. B. Holmes, pilot,
C. E. Langman, wireless operator.
Passenger:
C. F. Wolley Dod, Imperial Airways European Manager.

Crash of an Airspeed AS.6 Envoy in Titsey Hill: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jan 22, 1937

Type of aircraft:

Airspeed AS.6 Envoy

Operator:

Registration:

G-ADBZ

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Croydon – Paris

MSN:

YOM:

1935

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

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Circumstances:

The crew departed Croydon on a mail flight to Paris-Le Bourget. En route, he encountered poor visibility due to low clouds. Too low, the airplane collided with two high trees and crashed in Titsey Hill, near Oxted. Both occupants were killed.
Crew:
Gordon Shepherd Jones-Evans, pilot,
John Walker, radio operator.

Probable cause:

It was evident from the disposition of the wreckage and the nature of the damage to the trees, that the aircraft was flying straight and laterally level and was heading south-east. "I found no evidence to suggest that there was any engine failure. on the contrary, the evidence indicates that the engines were running normally," said the Inspector. The hills were 870 feet high, and the trees were about 50 feet high, bringing the total height to 920 feet, or about 300 metres. Weather conditions, in witness's opinion, must have had something to do with the accident. It was possible that the southerly wind had drifted the machine farther over the high ground. There was no question of the engine stalling. He did not consider that a fully-loaded machine had anything to do with the accident.

Crash of a Douglas DC-2-115E in Croydon: 15 killed

Date & Time: Dec 9, 1936 at 1030 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas DC-2

Operator:

Registration:

PH-AKL

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

City

Schedule:

Croydon – Amsterdam – Berlin

MSN:

1358

YOM:

1935

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airport of Croydon was shrouded in fog with visibility fluctuating at around 50 metres and all aircraft were operating under so-called "QBI" (a Q code denoting that all operations have to be performed under instrument flight rules) conditions. Crews were following a white line laid out approximately East-West on the grass surface of Croydon's landing area during their take-off runs (a normal procedure at several airports in the United Kingdom at the time, that had been in use at Croydon since 1931). A number of departures by this method had already been made that day by the time the KLM DC-2 took off, including a Swissair DC-2 about 25 minutes beforehand. The KLM DC-2 named 'Lijster' started its takeoff run along the white line but after about 200 yards (183 m), it veered off the line to the left and on becoming airborne headed south towards rising ground instead of in the normal westerly direction. After flying over the southern boundary of the airport, the aircraft hit the chimney of a house on Hillcrest Road, Purley, then crashed into an empty house on the opposite side of the street. The aircraft, the house and an adjoining house (also empty at the time) were destroyed in the crash and ensuing fire. One passenger and the stewardess survived while all 15 other occupants were killed, among them Admiral Salomon Arvid Achates Lindmann, former Prime Minister of Sweden, and Juan de la Cierva y Cordoniu, the inventor of the Autogyro in 1923 and the vertical takeoff in 1934. At this time, this accident was considered as the worst air crash in the UK in terms of the number of fatalities.
Crew:
Ludwig Hautzmayer, pilot,
Pieter Cornelis van Bemmel Valentijn, radio operator,
Jaap Verkerk, flight engineer,
Hilde Bongertman, stewardess.

Probable cause:

It was determined by the UK Accidents Investigation Branch that the pilot had failed to maintain directional control of the aircraft, and also demonstrated ‘poor judgement’ in not throttling down the engines and abandoning the take-off after it had departed the runway.

Crash of a Junkers JU.52/3m in Hanover

Date & Time: Nov 28, 1936 at 1822 LT

Type of aircraft:

Junkers JU.52

Operator:

Registration:

D-ATAK

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

London – Berlin

MSN:

5169

YOM:

1935

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

En route from Croydon to Berlin, the crew encountered severe icing conditions. The captain decided to divert to Hanover for a safe landing but on approach, he was forced to attempt and emergency landing. The three engine airplane named 'Marschall von Bieberstein' crash landed in an open field and came to rest, bursting into flames. All 15 occupants evacuated, among them seven were injured. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire.

Probable cause:

Icing.

Crash of a General Aircraft ST-18 Croydon into the Timor Sea

Date & Time: Oct 7, 1936

Type of aircraft:

General Aircraft ST-18 Croydon

Operator:

Claude Ronald Anson

Registration:

G-AECB

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Private

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Darwin – Croydon

MSN:

501

YOM:

1936

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

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Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

While returning from Darwin to Croydon and flying over the Timor Sea, the crew made several navigation errors and eventually decided to ditch the airplane in the Seringapatam Reef. The airplane came to rest into the lagoon located some 300 km off Cape Leveque, Western Australia. All four occupants were rescued by local fishermen while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and abandoned on site.

Probable cause:

Navigation error caused by a compass failure.

Crash of a Boulton & Paul P.71A off Dungeness: 2 killed

Date & Time: Sep 25, 1936

Type of aircraft:

Boulton & Paul P.71

Operator:

Registration:

G-ACOX

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Croydon – Paris

MSN:

P.71/1

YOM:

1934

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The twin engine aircraft named 'Boadicea' departed Croydon on a mail flight to Paris-Le Bourget with two crew members on board. It crashed in unknown circumstances into The Channel off Dungeness, Kent. Both crew members were killed.
crew:
Cpt Alfred Cecil Thomas, pilot,
Harold Eugene Percival, wireless operator.

Crash of a Fokker F12 in La Rochelle

Date & Time: Aug 16, 1936

Type of aircraft:

Fokker F12

Operator:

Registration:

G-ADZK

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Delivery

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Croydon - Madrid

MSN:

5301

YOM:

1931

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was on his way from Croydon to Madrid to deliver the aircraft to the Spanish Air Forces (Aviación Nacional). En route, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and limited visibility due to fog. In such conditions, the captain decided to divert to La Rochelle-Lagord Airport. For unknown reasons, the airplane landed hard, causing the left main gear to collapse. The aircraft went out of control and slid for few dozen metres before coming to rest with its left wing and left engine partially torn off. Both crew were uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Crew:
Mr. Czarkowski +1.

Crash of a Fokker F12 in Biarritz: 2 killed

Date & Time: Aug 15, 1936

Type of aircraft:

Fokker F12

Operator:

Registration:

G-ADZI

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Delivery

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Croydon - Biarritz - Madrid

MSN:

5285

YOM:

1931

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was on his way from Croydon to Madrid with an intermediate stop in Biarritz to deliver the aircraft to the Spanish Air Force (Aviación Nacional). On approach to Biarritz-Parme Airport, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions and initiated a go around. While trying to get height, the three engine airplane stalled and crashed in an open field, bursting into flames. Both crew members were killed and the aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire. It is not clear if the crew was attempting a first, a second or a third approach when the accident occurred. It is also possible that the aircraft was struck by lightning as the weather conditions were poor at the time of the accident.
Crew:
Jan Kazimierz Franciszek Lasocki, pilot,
Mr. Morawski.

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