Birchington-on-Sea | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The crew was completing a training sortie over the North Sea when the right engine failed in flight. The captain reduced his altitude and elected to return to Manston for an emergency landing. While descending to an altitude of 800 feet and while flying across the last cloud layer, the aircraft stalled and crashed into the sea, few miles off Birchington-on-Sea. A crew member was killed while three others were rescued.

Probable cause:

Failure of the right engine.

Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IV off Birchington-on-Sea

Date & Time: Apr 10, 1941 at 1730 LT

Type of aircraft:

Bristol 142 Blenheim

Operator:

Registration:

V5596

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Bodney - Bodney

Location:

Country:

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Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Bodney at 1257LT on an anti-shipping operation off Heligoland, Germany. It crashed for unknown reasons into the sea off Birchington-on-Sea, Kent. All three crew members were rescued.
Crew:
Sgt Crew,
Sgt Cartside,
Sgt Drummond.

Crash of a Vickers 115 Virginia VIII off Birchington-on-Sea: 2 killed

Date & Time: Apr 7, 1925 at 1100 LT

Type of aircraft:

Vickers Virginia

Operator:

Registration:

J7439

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Manston - Manston

Location:

Country:

Region:

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Pax on board:

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Circumstances:

The crew departed Manston Airport in the morning to complete a training mission over the North Sea and the Thames Estuary. At the end of the mission, while returning, the crew encountered poor visibility due to fog. The captain decided to ditch the aircraft off Birchington-on-Sea, Kent. The aircraft crashed in the sea and was later recovered. The copilot and another crew were killed while the captain and another crew were injured.
Crew:
Eric Alfred Claude Bushell, pilot,
Neil Coull Walker, copilot, †
Ernest Edward Mills, †
Horace Eustace Grellis.