Country
United Kingdom

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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