1934 Hillman's Airways de Havilland Dragon Rapide crash

1934 Hillman's Airways de Havilland Dragon Rapide crash
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
A de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide, similar to the accident aircraft.
Accident
Date2 October 1934
SummaryCFIT (pilot error)
SiteEnglish Channel, 4 miles (6 km) off Folkestone
Aircraft
Aircraft typeDe Havilland DH. 89A Dragon Rapide
OperatorHillman's Airways
RegistrationG-ACPM
Flight originAbridge Aerodrome, Essex, United Kingdom
DestinationLe Bourget, Paris, France
Passengers6
Crew1
Fatalities7
Survivors0

The 1934 Hillman's Airways de Havilland Dragon Rapide crash occurred on 2 October 1934 when a de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide of Hillman's Airways crashed into the English Channel off Folkestone, Kent, killing all seven people on board. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Abridge Aerodrome to Le Bourget Airport, Paris. The accident resulted in the first write-off of a Dragon Rapide.

Aircraft

The accident aircraft was de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide G-ACPM, c/n 6251.[1] This aircraft was the first production Dragon Rapide.[2] The aircraft had been entered in the 1934 King's Cup Race by Lord Wakefield but withdrew at Waddington following hail damage. It had been delivered to Hillman's Airways on 27 July.[3]

Accident

The flight had departed Abridge at 10 am. Cloudbase was 700 feet (210 m) and visibility was 2 miles (3 km) but decreased in rain within half an hour of the aircraft's departure. At 10.47, the aircraft was approaching the coast and the pilot asked Croydon for a radio bearing. The bearing received placed him north of Dover. The normal route in conditions of bad visibility was from Dungeness to Le Touquet. The pilot turned south to regain his course. At about 11:02, the aircraft dived into the sea and was destroyed, killing all seven people on board.[4]

The location of the accident was 4 miles (6.4 km) off Folkestone.[5] The crash was heard by the crew of the German SS Leander. A boat was lowered and some wreckage and two bodies were discovered within ten minutes.[4] Visibility at the time was poor in patchy rain with a cloudbase of 300 feet (91 m)[6] The British coaster SS Snowcrete joined the search. Its boat recovered a third body. The Southern Railway's cross-channel ferry SS Biarritz also joined the search. Two more bodies were recovered. The victims were transferred to Biarritz which took them to Folkestone before resuming her voyage to Boulogne. The Dover Lifeboat and a tug from Dover searched for the remaining two victims.[4] Wreckage from the aircraft was landed at Dover and Folkestone.[5] The accident resulted in the first write-off of a Dragon Rapide.[7]

The inquest into the deaths of the five people whose bodies had been recovered was opened by the Folkestone Coroner at Folkestone Town Hall on 4 October.[5] Evidence was given that the aircraft had probably crashed into the sea at high speed and all victims had died from multiple injuries. A verdict of "accidental death" was returned on all five victims.[6]

An Air Ministry investigation determined the cause of the accident to be pilot error due to the pilot's lack of experience in navigation and blind flying. Although conditions lower down were extremely poor, there was little cloud between 3,000 and 8,000 ft (910 and 2,440 m). The sea was calm and the pilot was unable to distinguish its surface.[8]

Casualties

The nationalities of the victims were:[4]

Nationality Crew Passengers Total
English 1 2 3
French – 2 2
American – 1 1
Scottish – 1 1
Total 1 6 7

References

  1. ^ "De Havilland aircraft production, page 62". De Havilland. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  2. ^ "Club History". Essex Gliding Club. Archived from the original on 5 September 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  3. ^ "DH.89 Dragon Rapide, Version 240110" (PDF). Air Britain. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d "Channel Air Disaster". The Times. No. 46785. London. 3 October 1934. col A, p. 12.
  5. ^ a b c "The Channel Air Accident – Official Examination of Wreckage". The Times. No. 46786. London. 4 October 1934. col F, p. 9.
  6. ^ a b "The Channel Air Accident – Inquest Verdict on Five Victims". The Times. No. 46787. London. 5 October 1934. col E, F, p. 11.
  7. ^ Denham, Terry (1996). World Directory of Airliner Crashes. Yeoford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 10. ISBN 1-85260-554-5.
  8. ^ "The Channel Accident". Flight (10 January 1935): 57.

51°1′37″N 1°13′48″E / 51.02694°N 1.23000°E / 51.02694; 1.23000