Ashford

Crashed in unknown circumstances in Ashford while on a flight from Croydon to Lympne. The pilot, sole on board, was injured.

The aircraft departed Paris-Le Bourget Airport at 1240LT bound for Croydon with a crew of two and 13 passengers on board. The crew made a radio control arriving over the Channel and its overflight was uneventful. While reaching the British coast, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls. Due to poor visibility, the pilot decided to make a precautionary landing in Romney Marsh but his altitude was too low. The noise of all four engines suddenly ceased and the machine descended in a gliding turn to port as if the pilot was manoeuvring to land. When passing over some farm buildings on the borders of a large field, the four engines aircraft hit the roof of a barn and crashed into some hayricks. The pilot and two passengers were killed while 12 other occupants were injured, 10 seriously.
Crew:
Pierre Delisle, pilot, †
Gabriel Ducos, mechanic.
Passengers:
R. Blaney, †
H. Rizzi, †
Mr. R. McAdam,
Mr. S. Hazzard,
Miss S. Hazzard,
Miss H. Awes,
Miss E. Fearn,
Miss M. Varden,
Miss V. Varden,
Mr. L. Stroh,
Miss E. Bennett,
Lord Norreys,
Mrs. Grant.

Source: Kent & Sussex History Forum

Pilot R. H. Leavey was performing a flight from Bournemouth to Kennington, northeast of Ashford, Kent. Upon arrival, he circled round several times before gliding down. A flock of sheep had just been driven into one corner of the field to make room. Unfortunately the glide didn't continue to the intended landing point and at the last moment Leavy opened up the engine. The Avro 504 struck the top of the bank at the south-east boundary of the field and was completely wrecked. Mr. Leavey, and his passenger Mr. Swan, scrambled out unhurt. The landing ground in question, when licensed for one month in November of the previous year, measured approximately 281 yards by 263 yards. It had subsequently been divided into two fields by a post and wire fence, and on the day of the accident the part available for landings was only 159 yards long. The field had already been inspected and approved by the pilot, and he had advertised passenger pleasure flights to commence from that spot on the 29AUG. On impact with the ground, G-EALD had swung through 180° and come to rest just inside the SE boundary of the field. The fuselage had broken in half and the port wings had shattered, and the undercarriage had been dragged away.

Showing off to a crowd often leads to embarrassment, as the pilot of an Avro 504 K discovered back in 1921. G-EAFQ was supposed to be flying from Penshurst to Ashford on the afternoon of 26th November - at the controls was Mr. R.H. Leavy, with a Mr. T. Baden-Powell as passenger. After making a short test flight the pilot took off again with the intention of heading for a temporary aerodrome at Ashford. On climbing to about 600 feet in an easterly direction, Leavy commenced a gradual turn to port until the Avro 504 arrived over a football ground on which a game was in progress. The machine was then banked vertically and the pilot, at 400 feet, waved his arm at the spectators. Unfortunately G-EAFQ fell rapidly into a side-slip and only partially recovered before striking the ground about 200 yards outside the touchline. The aircraft was fitted with dual controls - the passenger had not, however, interfered with them in any way. The men scrambled from the wreckage, Mr. Leavy having received nothing worse than cuts to the face, and Mr. Baden-Powell was unhurt.