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Crash of a De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly at RAF Westonzoyland: 2 killed

Date & Time: Sep 3, 1941
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly
Operator:
Registration:
X9389
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Westonzoyland - Saint Athan
MSN:
7524
YOM:
1936
Location:
Westonzoyland AFB
Somerset
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from RAF Westonzoyland, the twin engine airplane went out of control and crashed near the airbase. Both crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt John Ronald Melville Sales, pilot,
Sgt Hugh Walter Bellingham, air gunner.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly at RAF Old Sarum

Date & Time: Jun 24, 1941
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly
Operator:
Registration:
X9337
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Old Sarum - Witney
MSN:
7521
YOM:
1936
Location:
Old Sarum
Wiltshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
One of the undercarriage collapse during the takeoff roll at RAF Old Sarum. The airplane came to rest and was damaged beyond repair. The pilot was unhurt. He was supposed to ferry the airplane to RAF Witney for a major inspection.
Probable cause:
Undercarriage failure upon takeoff.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly in Brooklands

Date & Time: Jun 24, 1941
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly
Operator:
Registration:
AV993
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Brooklands - White Waltham
MSN:
7519
YOM:
1936
Location:
Brooklands (Weybridge)
Surrey
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed upon takeoff from Brooklands Airport while on a ferry flight to RAF White Waltham. The airplane was damaged beyond repair and the pilot was injured.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly off Rio de Janeiro: 1 killed

Date & Time: Nov 8, 1940 at 1430 LT
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly
Operator:
Registration:
LV-KAB
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Private
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
MSN:
7563
YOM:
1937
Location:
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Country:
Brazil
Region:
South America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The twin engine aircraft was approaching Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport when it collided at a height of 1,500 feet with a Junkers JU.52 of VASP. Registered PP-SPF, the three engine aircraft was en route to São Paulo with 18 people on board. Following the collision, both aircraft entered a dive and crashed into the Botafogo Bay, killing all 19 occupants.
Probable cause:
Both crews failed to see and avoid each other due to the poor visibility caused by the presence of clouds at low altitude.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly in Little Hampden

Date & Time: Jul 21, 1939
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly
Operator:
Mutual Finance
Registration:
G-AEXN
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Executive/Corporate/Business
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
7559
YOM:
1937
Location:
Little Hampden
Buckinghamshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
En route from Croydon, the pilot was forced to attempt an emergency landing for unknown reason. The aircraft crash landed in a field located in Little Hampden, north of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. All four occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly in Kasama

Date & Time: Jan 1, 1939
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly
Operator:
Registration:
VP-YBR
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
7503
YOM:
1936
Location:
Kasama
Northern
Country:
Zambia
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
En route from Salisbury, the pilot encountered an unexpected situation and was forced to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft came to rest upside down and was damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly in Gwelo

Date & Time: Dec 20, 1938
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly
Operator:
Registration:
VP-YAX
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Blantyre – Lilongwe – Fort Jameson
MSN:
7512
YOM:
1936
Location:
Gwelo (Gweru)
Midlands
Country:
Zimbabwe
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances. Occupant fate unknown.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly in Selukwe: 5 killed

Date & Time: Oct 20, 1938
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly
Operator:
Registration:
VP-YBB
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Executive/Corporate/Business
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
7520
YOM:
1936
Location:
Selukwe
Midlands
Country:
Zimbabwe
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances in Selukwe, killing all five occupants.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly in Shoreham

Date & Time: Aug 17, 1937
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly
Operator:
William Firth
Registration:
G-AEEK
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Private
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Heston – Shoreham
MSN:
7518
YOM:
1936
Location:
Shoreham-by-Sea
West Sussex
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The aircraft was owned by Sir William Firth but this day piloted by Ken Firth and Jimmy Gunn. On approach to Shoreham Aerodrome, the aircraft was too low and collided with an 11,000 volts power line. It stalled and crashed in a field in Upper Beeding, some 3 km north of the airfield. Both occupants evacuated the cabin and were uninjured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly near Newton Stewart: 4 killed

Date & Time: Feb 2, 1937
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly
Operator:
Registration:
G-AEHC
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Glasgow – Liverpool
MSN:
7514
YOM:
1936
Location:
Newton Stewart
Dumfries and Galloway
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The twin engine aircraft was used to prove a safe air route from Glasgow-Renfrew to Liverpool-Speke under the sponsorship (and ownership) of the Daily Express in an unofficial response to a report by the Maybury Air Committee into the opening up of routes linking various British cities. The aircraft left Glasgow-Renfrew Airport and headed south to Liverpool but nothing further was heard and when it failed to arrive at its destination, a SAR operation was started. A local resident found the debris on a hill two days later, near the Clatteringshaws Reservoir, some 16 miles southwest of Newton Stewart. All four occupants were killed and the aircraft was destroyed.
Crew:
Leslie T. Jackson, pilot,
Archibald Francis Phillpot, radio operator.
Passengers:
Harold J. Pemberton, journalist for the Daily Express,
Reginald Charles Wesley, photographer for the Daily Express.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident is unknown, but it is assumed that the pilot descended below safe limits in order to follow what he believed to be the coastline or the line of the Solway Firth. Unfortunately, the aircraft was flying too low and in poor visibility, so it contacted a hill known as 'Darnaw'.
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