Date & Time:
Apr 25, 1938 at 2130 LT
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.84 Dragon
Operator:
Registration:
G-ACHX
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Croydon - Croydon
MSN:
6036
YOM:
1933
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The crew departed Croydon on a local night training flight. Two hours and a half later, while on approach, the right engine failed. The airplane lost height, impacted trees and crashed less than a mile from the airport, in Purley. Both occupants were injured and the pilot died five days later from injuries sustained.
Crew:
F/O Colin Calder Byar, pilot, †
Ernest Ratcliffe, wireless operator.
Crew:
F/O Colin Calder Byar, pilot, †
Ernest Ratcliffe, wireless operator.
Probable cause:
An examination of the wreckage disclosed the fact that both petrol taps had been turned off, but that there had been ample fuel aboard at the time of the accident. The taps on the D.H. Dragon cannot be turned off by accident, nor can they be reached quickly, and the machine had been flying for two-and-a-half hours.
