Crash of an Avro 618 Ten in Ruiselede: 10 killed

Date & Time: Dec 30, 1933 at 1315 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-ABLU
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Cologne - Brussels - Croydon
MSN:
528
YOM:
1931
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
8
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
The crew was completing an international schedule service from Cologne to Croydon with an intermediate stop in Brussels. The aircraft departed Brussels-Haren Airport at 1220LT with eight passengers and two crew members on board. While overflying the West Flanders, the crew encountered poor visibility due to foggy conditions. Apparently lost, the crew deviated from the prescribed flight path by 15 km when the captain decided to reduce his altitude to establish a visual contact with the ground. At a height of about 250 feet, the airplane collided with a 270 metres high radio antenna. Upon impact, the right wing was torn off and the airplane crashed in an open field, bursting into flames. All 10 occupants were killed, among them seven British, two Dutch and one Polish.

Crash of a Lioré-et-Olivier LeO H-213 in Beauvais

Date & Time: Nov 16, 1933 at 0900 LT
Operator:
Registration:
F-AIFD
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Paris – Croydon
MSN:
01
YOM:
1926
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew departed Paris-Le Bourget Airport at 0840LT on a mail flight to Croydon. Twenty minutes later, while cruising at an altitude of 1,000 metres, the left engine caught fire. The crew decided to bail out and abandoned the aircraft that impacted an electricity pole and the roof of a factory before crashing in an affluent of the Avelon River, bursting into flames. Both pilots were uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed. All mail, more than one ton, was also destroyed.
Probable cause:
In-flight fire on the left engine.

Crash of a General Aircraft ST-4 Monospar in Chah Bahar

Date & Time: Nov 10, 1933
Operator:
Registration:
G-ACHS
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Croydon – Chabahar
MSN:
15
YOM:
1933
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed on approach to Chabahar Airfield for unknown reasons. The pilot was injured and the airplane was written off.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.80 Puss Moth off Muanda: 1 killed

Date & Time: Aug 6, 1933
Operator:
Registration:
CH-326
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Cape Town - Croydon
MSN:
2211
YOM:
1931
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The pilot was attempting a world record from Cape Town to Croydon. While flying over the delta of the Congo River, the single engine aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances off Muanda, Bas Congo. The pilot was killed.

Crash of an Armstrong Whitworth AW.154 Argosy II in Diksmuide: 15 killed

Date & Time: Mar 28, 1933 at 1425 LT
Operator:
Registration:
G-AACI
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Cologne – Bruxelles – Croydon
MSN:
AW.363
YOM:
1928
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
12
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
15
Captain / Total flying hours:
4000
Circumstances:
Named 'City of Liverpool', the aircraft departed Brussels-Haren Airport at 1336LT, about 30 minutes beyond schedule. It passed over Gent at 1400LT and was approaching Roeselare. While cruising at an altitude of 4,300 feet and at a speed of 95 knots, the radio navigator informed ATC that all was OK on board. Few minutes later, an intense fire broke out in the cabin. Immediately, the pilot reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing. But from a height of some 200 feet, the aircraft stalled and crashed in a flat attitude in an open field, bursting into flames. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire and all 15 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Investigations revealed that no technical failure occurred on wings or engines. A quick and violent fire broke out in the cabin, maybe in a luggage or in the toilet compartment for reasons that could not be determined. The fire was very intensive as no one in the cabin was able to use the fire extinguisher. Investigators thought about a criminal act but Imperial Airways declared few months later that the responsibility of any of the passenger could not be proven.

Crash of a Lioré-et-Olivier LeO H-213 in Poix-de-Picardie

Date & Time: Jan 13, 1933
Operator:
Registration:
F-AJNS
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Paris – Croydon
MSN:
07
YOM:
1930
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
En route from Paris to Croydon, the aircraft caught fire in flight. The pilot reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing in an open field. The aircraft rolled for few dozen metres before coming to rest, bursting into flames. All six occupants evacuated safely and the airplane was destroyed by fire.
Probable cause:
In-flight fire for unknown reasons.

Crash of a Simmonds Spartan near Bushehr

Date & Time: Oct 31, 1932
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-AAGO
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Croydon – Hyderabad
MSN:
29
YOM:
1929
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The pilot, sole on board, departed Croydon on a flight to Hyderabad, India. While cruising over Iran, the engine failed. The pilot attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crash landed in a desert area located in the region of Bushehr. The pilot was uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Engine failure for unknown reasons.

Crash of a Junkers W.33f into the North Sea: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 29, 1932 at 2140 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
D-2017
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Croydon – Cologne – Berlin
MSN:
2583
YOM:
1931
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew departed Croydon Airport at 2055LT on a night cargo service to Berlin with an intermediate stop in Cologne. At that time, weather conditions were considered as good, except a strong west wind up to 50 mph. Less than an hour into the flight, while cruising over the North Sea, the airplane crashed in unknown circumstances. A wheel was found the following day by the crew of a Belgian ship but no trace of the aircraft named 'Marmara' nor the two crew members was ever found.
Crew:
Wilhelm Cuno, pilot,
Werner Drebes, radio operator.

Crash of a Lioré-et-Olivier LeO H-213 in Selsdon Park: 1 killed

Date & Time: Sep 17, 1932 at 0600 LT
Operator:
Registration:
F-AIFE
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Paris – Croydon
MSN:
2
YOM:
1926
Location:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The crew departed Paris-Le Bourget Airport at 0525LT bound for London. On approach to Croydon Airport, the crew encountered poor visibility due to foggy conditions. The pilot reduced his altitude to establish a visual contact with the ground when the airplane impacted a tree and crashed in the parking lot of an Hotel located in Selsdon Park, Surrey. The copilot was seriously injured and the captain Gustave Demeuldre was killed.

Crash of an Avro 594 Avian IIIA in Ashford

Date & Time: Jul 18, 1932
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
G-EBYP
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Croydon - Lympne
MSN:
154
YOM:
1928
Location:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances in Ashford while on a flight from Croydon to Lympne. The pilot, sole on board, was injured.