Crash of a Handley Page H.P.50 Heyford in Shaw
Date & Time:
Dec 12, 1936
Operator:
Registration:
K4874
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Belfast – Finningley
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
A group of seven Handley Page H.P.50 Heyford departed Belfast-Aldergrove Airport at 1045LT on a formation flight to RAF Finningley. Upon departure, weather conditions were excellent. After crossing the Irish Sea and flying over Barrow-in-Furness, the crew encountered clouds and severe icing conditions. Unable to maintain the altitude, the crew decided to bail out and abandoned the aircraft that entered a dive and crashed in a pasture in Shaw, some 15 km northeast of Manchester. The aircraft was destroyed and all four crew members were uninjured.
