Crash of a Short S.30 Empire Flying Boat off Dakar: 19 killed
Date & Time:
Sep 24, 1942
Operator:
Registration:
G-AFCZ
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Lagos – Bathurst – Lisbon – Poole
MSN:
S.885
YOM:
1937
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
13
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
19
Circumstances:
The seaplane was en route from Lagos to Poole with intermediate stops in Bathurst and Lisbon. About 90 minutes after its departure from Bathurst, the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances into the Atlantic Ocean off the Senegalese coast. The crew was unable to send any distress call. Few days after the accident, some debris and six dead bodies were found on the Senegalese coast and it is believed that the airplane apparently crashed some 50 km south of Dakar. All 19 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the airplane suffered an explosion in midair, maybe following a sudden and uncontained failure on the fuel supply system.
