1934 Hillman's Airways de Havilland Dragon Rapide crash

1934 plane crash in the English Channel July 2014 August 2019 1934 Hillman's Airways de Havilland Dragon Rapide crash Accident Dragon rapide g-aeml flying arp.jpg 250 De Havilland Dragon Rapide A de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide, similar to the accident aircraft. 2 October 1934 CFIT (pilot error) English Channel, 4 mi km 0 off Folkestone De Havilland DH. 89A Dragon Rapide Hillman's Airways G-ACPM Abridge Aerodrome, Essex, United Kingdom Le Bourget, Paris, France 6 1 7 0 The 1934 Hillman's Airways de Havilland Dragon Rapide crash occurred on 2 October 1934 when a de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide of Hillman's Airways crashed into the English Channel off Folkestone, Kent, killing all seven people on board. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Abridge Aerodrome to Le Bourget Airport, Paris. The accident resulted in the first write-off of a Dragon Rapide. Aircraft The accident aircraft was de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide G-ACPM, c/n 6251.http://www.dehavilland.ukf.net/p062.htm De Havilland aircraft production, page 62 De Havilland 25 January 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20110722032118/http://www.dehavilland.ukf.net/p062.htm 22 July 2011 dead This aircraft was the first production Dragon Rapide.http://essexgliding.com/club_history.htm Club History Essex Gliding Club 25 January 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20090905174555/http://essexgliding.com/club_history.htm 5 September 2009 dead The aircraft had been entered in the 1934 King's Cup Race by Lord Wakefield but withdrew at Waddington following hail damage. It had been delivered to Hillman's Airways on 27 July.http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/view_online.php?url=http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh89.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20110717232954/http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/view_online.php?url=http:%2F%2Fwww.ab-ix.co.uk%2Fdh89.pdf dead 17 July 2011 DH.89 Dragon Rapide, Version 240110 Air Britain 25 January 2011 Accident The flight had departed Abridge at 10 am. Cloudbase was 700 ft m and visibility was 2 mi km 0 but decreased in rain within half an hour of the aircraft's departure. At 10.47, the aircraft was approaching the coast and the pilot asked Croydon for a radio bearing. The bearing received placed him north of Dover. The normal route in conditions of bad visibility was from Dungeness to Le Touquet. The pilot turned south to regain his course. At about 11:02, the aircraft dived into the sea and was destroyed, killing all seven people on board.Channel Air Disaster 3 October 1934 12 46785 A The location of the accident was 4 mi km off Folkestone.The Channel Air Accident – Official Examination of Wreckage 4 October 1934 9 46786 F The crash was heard by the crew of the German Leander. A boat was lowered and some wreckage and two bodies were discovered within ten minutes. Visibility at the time was poor in patchy rain with a cloudbase of 300 ft mThe Channel Air Accident – Inquest Verdict on Five Victims 5 October 1934 11 46787 E, F The British coaster SS Snowcrete joined the search. Its boat recovered a third body. The Southern Railway's cross-channel ferry Biarritz also joined the search. Two more bodies were recovered. The victims were transferred to Biarritz which took them to Folkestone before resuming her voyage to Boulogne. The Dover Lifeboat and a tug from Dover searched for the remaining two victims. Wreckage from the aircraft was landed at Dover and Folkestone. The accident resulted in the first write-off of a Dragon Rapide.World Directory of Airliner Crashes Terry Denham 1996 Patrick Stephens Ltd Yeoford 10 1-85260-554-5 The inquest into the deaths of the five people whose bodies had been recovered was opened by the Folkestone Coroner at Folkestone Town Hall on 4 October. Evidence was given that the aircraft had probably crashed into the sea at high speed and all victims had died from multiple injuries. A verdict of "accidental death" was returned on all five victims. An Air Ministry investigation determined the cause of the accident to be pilot error due to the pilot's lack of experience in navigation and blind flying. Although conditions lower down were extremely poor, there was little cloud between 3000 and 8,000 ft m on. The sea was calm and the pilot was unable to distinguish its surface.The Channel Accident Flight 10 January 1935 57 http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1935/1935%20-%200105.html Casualties The nationalities of the victims were: Nationality Crew Passengers Total English 1 2 3 French – 2 2 American – 1 1 Scottish – 1 1 Total 1 6 7 References 51 1 37 N 1 13 48 E type:event title Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1934 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Kent Category:Folkestone Category:1934 in England Category:History of the English Channel Category:Hillman's Airways accidents and incidents Category:1934 disasters in the United Kingdom Category:October 1934 in the United Kingdom