Paris-Le Bourget

While overflying The Channel, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions with light rain and fog. He decided to return but due to low visibility and while cruising under VFR mode in IFR conditions, he was unable to distinguish the water surface and eventually lost control of the aircraft that crashed into the sea some five km off Folkestone. All seven occupants were killed. First accident involving a De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide.
Crew:
Walter Robert Bannister, pilot.
Passengers:
Louis Beigneuxl,
Jean Louis Bordaz,
Miss Phyllis Budden,
Andrew McGregor Ritchie,
Albert Paul de Sanno,
Helene Slabodsky.

The aircraft took off at 1700LT on a scheduled international passenger flight to Paris-Le Bourget Airport. It flew into an isolated storm over north west Kent. An eyewitness reported seeing the aircraft emerge from the clouds in a vertical dive. The cloud base was at an altitude of 1,200 feet (370 m) and the hills around Shoreham reached an elevation of 600 feet (180 m). The aircraft crashed just north of Shoreham in Timberden Bottom, at the bottom of Cockerhurst Road. All four people on board were killed while two women walking in the vicinity of the accident were injured when they were struck by flying debris. some parts of the aircraft were found 66 feet (20 m) to the south west and 100 feet (30 m) west of the main wreckage. An eyewitness stated that he thought the pilot may have stalled trying to avoid high tension power lines. An inquest into the accident was held at Sevenoaks on 2 October. The victims were identified by documentation and personal belongings as they had received injuries which made visual identification "extremely difficult, if not impossible". Evidence was given that the aircraft was not operating anywhere near its maximum take-off weight of 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) and that it had been airworthy on departure from Heston. The pilot was experienced. He was a former Royal Air Force pilot and had 1,500 hours flying time, of which 150 hours were on the Heston-Paris route.
Crew:
Ronald Maxwell Smith, pilot.

The crew departed Croydon Airport on an early mail/cargo flight to Paris-Le Bourget. After takeoff shortly after 5am, while climbing in reduced visibility due to mist, the airplane collided with the mast of an antenna, stalled and crashed in the garden of a house located in Wallington. The aircraft was destroyed and both crew members were killed.
Crew:
Raymond Defives, pilot,
Edouard L'Huillier, radio navigator.

The airplane departed Paris-Le Bourget Airport at 1115LT on a schedule service to Croydon, carrying three passengers and three crew members. While cruising over The Channel, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and low visibility due to fog. The pilot reduced his altitude in an attempt to maintain a visual contact with the water surface when the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances into the sea. As the aircraft failed to arrive in Croydon, SAR operations were initiated by British and French Authorities. Nine days later, on May 18, the dead body of a passenger was found on a beach in Fort-Mahon, Manche. Also, few debris and some mail were later recovered on several beaches of the area. The wreckage was never found. It is believed that the airplane may have crashed about 15 km north of Dieppe, Seine-Maritime.
Crew:
François Cannet, pilot,
Joseph Ollier, radio navigator,
Myles Murphy, steward.
Passengers:
Comte de Neuville,
Mr. Guichard,
Arthur Louis Fraissard.

While on a cargo flight from Marseille to Paris, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. In stormy weather, the pilot lost control of the airplane that crashed on the hill of Paty, in Caromb. Both crew members were killed.
Crew:
Pierre Lefèvre du Prey, pilot,
André Simon, radio navigator.

Due to sandstorm in Karachi, the crew continued his route to Gwadar, Baluchistan. At night, the aircraft landed long and hit an obstacle that damaged a landing gear. Following repairs, the aircraft departed Gwadar few hours later. In Marseille, the crew was informed about poor weather conditions on the leg to Paris so he decided to make an intermediate stop at Lyon-Bron Airport where it landed at 1620LT. Despite terrible weather conditions (snowstorm, low visibility and night), the crew departed Lyon at 1815LT bound for Paris. Several Officials were waiting on this aircraft flying from Saigon and a ceremony has been organized. About an hour into the flight, while cruising at an altitude of 1,700 metres in snow falls, the aircraft named 'Émeraude' entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in the hill of La Linarde near Corbigny. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 10 occupants were killed.
Crew:
André Launay, pilot,
Camille Crampel, engineer,
Ferdinand Queyrel, radio navigator.
Passengers:
Pierre Pasquier, Governor of Indochina,
Maurice Noguès, Deputy Director by Air France,
Maurice Balazuc, Director of Operations by Air France,
Emmanuel Chaumié, Director of French Civil Aviation Authority,
Colette Chaumié, Mr. Chaumié's wife,
Cpt Léon BrusseauX, personal assistant to Mr. Pierre Pasquier,
Jean-Jacques Larrieu, Head of mission by the Ministry of the Air.

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.

The airplane departed Zurich (Dübendorf) on a flight to Paris with an intermediate stop in Basel. It was carrying four chamois, 132 kilos of various goods, 239 kilos of gold and 20 kilos of mail. The crew departed Basel-Sternenfeld Airport at 1030LT in good weather conditions. But some 50 minutes into the flight, those conditions worsened and the visibility became poor due to fog. While cruising at an altitude of some 600 metres, the aircraft impacted trees and crashed in a wooded area located on a hillside in Étobon, 12 km west of Belfort. A passenger and the radio navigator were killed while all three other occupants were injured. A chamois should be killed due to his injuries while all three others animals went away. All goods, gold and mail were recovered. The aircraft was named 'L'Étoile d'argent'.
Crew:
Gaston Lafannechère, pilot,
Mr. Bloquet, mechanic,
Camille Suply, radio navigator.
The passenger killed was Mr. Werner Spoerri, a Swiss pharmacist leaving in Einsideln.

The airplane was returning to Paris following a tour of the Mediterranean countries. It departed Tunis in the early morning bound to Paris with an intermediate stop in Dijon. Few minutes after takeoff from Dijon, the crew encountered poor visibility due to foggy conditions. Too low, the airplane impacted the slope of a hill in Blaisy-Bas, some 24 km northwest of Dijon. The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed.
Crew:
Charles de Verneilh Puyraseau, pilot,
Mr. Le Bas, mechanic,
Mr. Goulmy, radio navigator.

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.