Zone
Durham

Crash of a De Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide near Edale

Date & Time: Dec 30, 1963
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide
Operator:
Solair Flying Services
Registration:
G-ALBC
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Aerial photography
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George – Birmingham
MSN:
6572
YOM:
1948
Location:
Edale
Derbyshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The aircraft was on a flight from Middleton St. George to Birmingham, and the crew of one pilot and one photographer planned to complete several photographic survey jobs en route. Shortly after sunset, when flying at 2,000 ft. a.m.s.l. at an estimated position five miles west of Sheffield and near high ground rising to 2,000 ft. a.m.s.l., the pilot decided that the fuel remaining was insufficient to reach Birmingham with the existing headwind of 40 knots. He established contact with Manchester Approach Control and was given permission to divert to Manchester Airport on a special VFR clearance "not above 3,500 ft. a.m.s.l. on a QNH of 1013 mbs., clear of all cloud, and in sight of the surface". Shortly after this, when on a north-westerly heading to intercept a QDM of 270°M to the 'ME' (Manchester) beacon, the pilot saw hill tops about four miles ahead and commenced climbing from 2,000 ft. to 3,500 ft. The pilot states that the aircraft entered cloud at 2,500 ft. and that, on reaching 2,700 ft., he noticed that the vertical speed indicator was showing a descent of 2,000 ft./min. He states that he applied full power and eased the nose up but, after this, he remembers nothing further until he regained consciousness lying on the ground, alongside the photographer in front of the wrecked aircraft.
Probable cause:
Examination at the scene of the accident showed that the aircraft had struck the ground, in a normal cruising attitude and at a low engine power setting, at a point 1,990 ft. a.m.s.l. An aftercast of the weather conditions showed that the cloud base over the hills at the time of the accident probably varied between 1,800 and 3,000 ft. a.m.s.l., the wind at 2,000 to 3,000 ft. was 240°/45-50 knots, and horizontal visibility was 1 1/2-3 n.m. with some turbulence over high ground. "Sigmet" warnings broadcast by Preston A.T.C.C, and in force at the time of the accident, gave warning that locally severe turbulence, up to FL 100 over high ground in the Preston FIR had been forecast. From the information available, however, it was not possible to determine whether significant downdrafts existed in the area where the crash occurred.

Crash of a Vickers 619 Wellington X in Horam: 4 killed

Date & Time: Apr 5, 1950 at 2200 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 619 Wellington X
Operator:
Registration:
NC615
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Horam
East Sussex
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The aircraft left RAF Middleton Saint George at 1845LT on a night navigation exercice. At 2137LT, the crew informed ground that the mission was uneventful until this time. Twenty-three minutes later, the aircraft went into a dive. At an altitude of 1,000 feet, it partially disintegrated and eventually crashed in a pasture. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
S. J. Murdoch, pilot,
F/Lt W. A. Ryde, navigator,
F/Lt H. Seiman, navigator,
Sig A. E. Bazen.
Probable cause:
The aircraft broke in flight due to exceptional aerodynamic and other stresses.

Crash of a Vickers 619 Wellington X in RAF Middleton Saint George: 6 killed

Date & Time: Sep 17, 1949
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 619 Wellington X
Operator:
Registration:
NC430
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Demonstration
Survivors:
No
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Middleton St George AFB
Durham
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
During an airshow in RAF Middleton Saint George, the crew was involved in a demonstration mission consisting of para-dropping a low height. On final approach, during the last segment, the airplane nosed down and crashed at runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and all six occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the technique adopted by the crew to drop the paratroopers was wrong. After the lateral door was closed, it appears that the air flow along the rudder and the elevator changed due to the presence of the paratroopers. This caused the aircraft to adopt a wrong attitude and the response from the crew was inappropriate.

Crash of an Avro 652 Anson T.21 in Exhall: 4 killed

Date & Time: Feb 19, 1949 at 0945 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 652 Anson
Operator:
Registration:
VV243
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton St George - Mepal
Location:
Exhall
Warwickshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
While cruising in VFR mode over the region of Coventry at an altitude of 4,500 feet, the Anson collided with a BEA C-47 registered G-AHCW and carrying four crew members and six passengers from Northolt to Glasgow. Following the collision, both aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in Exhall, north of Coventry. All 14 occupants in both aircraft were killed.
Probable cause:
The accident was the result of a midair collision. Since neither aircraft took any apparent avoiding action it must be concluded that the pilot of the Anson did not see the Dakota and that the pilots of the Dakota did not see the Anson. This must be attributed to failure on the part of the captain of each aircraft to ensure the maintenance of an effective lookout.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Indoornik

Date & Time: Jun 25, 1943 at 0130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JD214
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Indoornik
Gelderland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Middleton St George at 2307LT on June 24 on an operation to Wuppertal. Passing over the Netherlands, it was badly shot about by a German fighter and crash landed in an open field located in Indoornik. All seven crew members became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt George Victor Neale, pilot,
Sgt Reginald Alfred Cleaver, flight engineer,
Sgt Ross Sheldon McLachlan, navigator,
Sgt William Milne Jaffray, bomb aimer,
Sgt Donald John Griffiths, wireless operator,
Sgt David Edward Kenwell, air gunner,
Sgt William Patterson McLeod, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Herten: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jun 25, 1943 at 0111 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JD147
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Herten
Limburg
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Middleton St George at 2240LT on June 24 on an operation to Wuppertal. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Herten. Three crew members were killed and four others became PoW.
Crew:
S/L Burton Norris Jost, pilot, †
Sgt Julius Bjorn Johnson, flight engineer, †
Sgt Ernest Bailey Pope, navigator,
F/Sgt Ashley William Alfred Bruce, bomb aimer,
F/O Robert Oscar Evans Goodwin, wireless operator, †
Sgt Robert Edward Austin, air gunner,
F/Sgt Leslie Barker, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Acht: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 25, 1943 at 0106 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JD258
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Acht
North Brabant
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Middleton St George at 2256LT on June 24 on an operation to Wuppertal. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Acht, in the north suburb of Eindhoven. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Robert Whitfield, pilot,
Sgt Peter Stephenson, flight engineer,
F/O Reginald John Leake Fowler, navigator,
F/O William Archibald Donnelly, bomb aimer,
Sgt Clifford Gorton, wireless operator,
Sgt John Ellis Dean, air gunner,
F/Sgt Michael Patrick Kimber, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II near Rucphen: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 22, 1943 at 0143 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W1271
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Rucphen
North Brabant
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Middleton St George at 2342LT on June 21 on an operation to Krefeld. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed west of Rucphen. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Colin Rees Pearce, pilot,
Sgt Joseph John Francis Holland, flight engineer,
F/Sgt William Tidswell Ellis, navigator,
Sgt Glyn John Davies Thompson, bomb aimer,
Sgt William James Randall, wireless operator,
Sgt James Galloway, air gunner,
F/Sgt Edgar Lester Robson, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Teglingen

Date & Time: Jun 13, 1943 at 0206 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
DT616
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Teglingen
Lower Saxony
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Middleton St George at 2300LT on June 12 on an operation to Bochum. Passing Meppen, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Teglingen. All seven crew members became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Bertram Denis Kirkham, pilot,
Sgt Robert James Hamilton, flight engineer,
Sgt Harold Arthur Taylor, navigator,
Sgt Denys Beatty Whittaker, bomb aimer,
Sgt Francis James Callaghan, wireless operator,
Sgt James Albert Mills, air gunner,
Sgt David Lawson Gray, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Xanten: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jun 12, 1943 at 0155 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JD143
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Xanten
North Rhine-Westphalia
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Middleton Saint George at 2240LT on June 11 on an operation to Düsseldorf. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Xanten, 52 km north northwest of Düsseldorf. Three crew members were killed and five others became PoW.
Crew:
F/O William John Boyce, pilot, †
W/O Herbert Andrew Tripp, pilot, †
Sgt David Newton Stewart, flight engineer,
F/O Duncan Ian Black, navigator,
F/O Charles Lincoln Buck, bomb aimer,
Sgt Douglas Edward Cyril Chambers, wireless operator, †
Sgt Richard Manning Hall, air gunner,
Sgt John Douglas Gray, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
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