Surrey

Site:

Schedule:

Paris – Croydon

MSN:

1082

YOM:

1936

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After landing at night and in a blizzard, the twin engine aircraft went out of control. It veered off runway and collided with a fuel station, coming to rest broken in two. All four occupants evacuated safely.

Crash of a Junkers JU.52/3mfe in Croydon: 3 killed

Date & Time: Nov 26, 1937 at 2130 LT

Type of aircraft:

Junkers JU.52

Operator:

Registration:

D-AGAV

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Croydon – Cologne – Hanover – Berlin

MSN:

4023

YOM:

1933

Location:

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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 Avro 594 Avian III in Brooklands

Date & Time: Aug 2, 1937

Type of aircraft:

Avro 594 Avian

Operator:

Richard Geoffrey Davies

Registration:

G-EBXD

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Private

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Brooklands – Woodford

MSN:

121

YOM:

1928

Location:

Brooklands (Weybridge)

Surrey

Country:

United Kingdom

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

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Circumstances:

Crashed shortly after takeoff from Brooklands Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot Mr. J. Davies was injured.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.60M Moth in Box Hill: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jul 18, 1937

Type of aircraft:

De Havilland DH.60 Moth

Operator:

Registration:

K1858

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Redhill - Redhill

MSN:

1932

YOM:

1930

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The pilot departed Redhill on a local solo training flight. While completing aerobatics at low height, he lost control of the airplane that crashed in Box Hill. The pilot Sgt Raymond Arthur Mould was killed.

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:

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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:

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

The Insurance Flying Club

Site:

City

Schedule:

Croydon – Amsterdam – Berlin

MSN:

1358

YOM:

1935

Location:

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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 De Havilland DH.60G Moth in Brooklands: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 3, 1936

Type of aircraft:

De Havilland DH.60 Moth

Operator:

Registration:

G-AAJN

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Private

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Hanworth - Brooklands

MSN:

1049

YOM:

1929

Location:

Brooklands (Weybridge)

Surrey

Country:

United Kingdom

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

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Circumstances:

While approaching Brooklands, the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in Weybridge. The pilot was killed and the female passenger was injured.
Crew:
James Skipworth Wilkinson.
Passenger:
Margaret Maffett.

Probable cause:

It was explained that the machine was a dual control 'plane, and that it crashed after entering a spin. It was rule of the club that when a pilot took up an unqualified passenger the controls should be disconnected. An Air Ministry inspector told how he found marks and paint on one of the girl's shoes, from which it was obvious that she put her foot on the rudder bar pedal. His theory was that at some time during the spin she unwittingly put her foot down, and this would obstruct the pilot's recovery.

Crash of a Vickers 212 Vellox in Croydon: 4 killed

Date & Time: Aug 10, 1936 at 0200 LT

Type of aircraft:

Vickers Vellox

Operator:

Registration:

G-ABKY

Flight Phase:

General Aircraft ST-4 Monospar

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

City

Schedule:

Croydon – Paris

MSN:

YOM:

1934

Location:

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Region:

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Circumstances:

The airplane departed Croydon Airport on a night mail flight to Paris-Le Bourget, carrying four crew members. Shortly after takeoff, while in initial climb, the airplane encountered difficulties to gain height then stalled and crashed in a garden located in Hillside Gardens, less than a km from the airport, bursting into flames. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all four occupants were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Lionel Frank Hastings Orr, pilot,
Cpt Stanley Miles Fergusson, pilot,
Robert Arbuckle, wireless operator,
Jeffrey Denis Dear, wireless operator.

Probable cause:

The following factors were identified:
- The accident was due to a sudden loss of engine power occurring in circumstances that were unfavourable for and may even have rendered impossible the carrying out of a successful forced landing,
- That the cause of the sudden loss of engine power cannot be determined, but that the evidence is suggestive of the starboard engine having been either the first or the only engine to fail, and
- The most likely cause was either some obstruction of the fuel system or incorrect setting of the fuel controls.

Crash of a General Aircraft ST-4 Monospar II in Croydon: 1 killed

Date & Time: May 16, 1936

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

G-ADLM

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site: