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Crash of a De Havilland DH.9B in Hounslow Heath

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1920
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-EAQA
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Hounslow Heath - Paris
MSN:
P.36E
YOM:
1919
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, the aircraft stalled and crashed. All three occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.9B in Paris

Date & Time: Nov 9, 1920 at 1200 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-EAQN
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Croydon - Paris
MSN:
P.37E
YOM:
1920
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed upon landing at Paris-Le Bourget Airport. There were no injuries.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.9B in Eltham

Date & Time: Aug 22, 1920
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-EAGX
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Paris - Croydon
MSN:
H9255
YOM:
1919
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a cargo flight from Paris-Le Bourget. After overflying Kent and while cruising west of Dartford, the crew encountered problems and the aircraft crashed in Eltham, northeast of Croydon. Both crew members were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.18 in Wallington

Date & Time: Aug 16, 1920
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-EARI
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Croydon - Paris
MSN:
DH.18/1
YOM:
1920
Location:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
8
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
This DH.18 was the first prototype delivered to AT&T. Shortly after takeoff from Croydon Airport, while on an international schedule flight to Paris-Le Bourget, the pilot encountered technical problems. The aircraft lost height and crashed in an open field located in Wallington, southwest of Croydon. All 9 occupants were slightly injured and the aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
Technical failure.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.16 in Swanley Junction

Date & Time: Jun 10, 1920 at 2230 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-EARU
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Paris - Croydon
MSN:
P.59
YOM:
1920
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The pilot, Captain Bayliss, was performing a regular schedule flight from Paris-Le Bourget to Croydon. En route, south of Maidstone, Kent, he encountered technical problems and made an emergency landing in a field located in Marden. All four passengers disembarked and continued their trip to London by train. During the day, the airplane was repaired and took off again in the evening to Croydon, this time with three passengers on board, the farmer (owner of the field where the pilot completed the emergency landing), his wife and a friend. While cruising south of Dartford in twilight, the pilot encountered engine trouble and elected to make another emergency landing. He reduced his altitude and elected to land in Swanley Junction. Upon landing in a cornfield, the aircraft crashed and came to rest upside down. The pilot and two passengers were slightly injured while another passenger (Mrs Madeline Day), was seriously injured. She died one year later at the age of 28 from kidney failure which the coroner concluded at the inquest, was directly attributable to the accident.
Probable cause:
Engine failure.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.16 off Beachy Head

Date & Time: Mar 18, 1920
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-EACT
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Paris - Hounslow Heath
MSN:
DH.16/1
YOM:
1919
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Thew pilot was performing a mail flight from Paris-Le Bourget to Hounslow Heath. While overflying the Channel, he encountered low visibility due to fog and his compass failed. He sighted a boat (SS Selarus) and circled around it to attract attention. Eventually, he ditched the aircraft off the Beachy Head coast, near Eastbourne. He was quickly rescued by the crew of the boat and the aircraft was lost.
Probable cause:
Compass failure in poor weather conditions over the sea.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.4A in Caterham: 2 killed

Date & Time: Dec 11, 1919
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-EAHF
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Paris-Le Bourget - Hounslow Heath
MSN:
F2699
YOM:
1919
Location:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The aircraft departed Paris-Le Bourget in the morning bound to Hounslow Heath, near Heathrow, London. While approaching the airport of Kenley, south of Croydon, the aircraft went out of control and crashed in an open field. While the passenger was killed, the pilot was seriously injured. Two days later, he died from his injuries. The passenger was returning to London following a meeting with the French Prime Minister Georges Clémenceau in Paris.
Crew:
Lt Stanley Blackall Bradley, pilot.
Passenger:
George Franklin Rand, President of the Marine Trust Company in Buffalo, New York.
Probable cause:
The cause of the accident could not be determined. However, it is believed that the pilot was either trying to land at Kenley or was trying to pinpoint his position.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.4A off Folkestone

Date & Time: Oct 20, 1919
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-EAHG
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Interlaken - Paris - Croydon
MSN:
F2694
YOM:
1919
Location:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The pilot, Major-General Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley, was returning to Croydon following an exhibition in Interlaken, Switzerland. After a fuel stop in Paris-Le Bourget, he continued to his base in Croydon. While overflying The Channel and approaching the British coast, he encountered foggy conditions and the visibility was low. Eventually, the aircraft crashed in the sea off Folkestone, Kent. The pilot was rescued while the aircraft was lost.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.4A in Newcastle: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 2, 1919 at 0845 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-EAEW
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Croydon – Newcastle
MSN:
G7/67
YOM:
1919
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
On final approach to Newcastle, the engine lost power. The aircraft stalled and crashed few km from the airport. The passenger was injured and the pilot was killed.
Probable cause:
Engine failure caused by a fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.9 in Portsdown Hill: 1 killed

Date & Time: May 1, 1919 at 0530 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-EAAA
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Hendon - Bournemouth
MSN:
C6054
YOM:
1919
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The aircraft departed Hendon on a night mail flight to Bournemouth, carrying one pilot and a load of newspapers. While descending to Portsmouth, the pilot encountered low visibility due to thick fog when the airpane impacted the top of a hill and crashed in Portsdown Hill, north of Portsmouth. The pilot, Captain Howard J. Saint, sole on board, was killed.