The 1930 Air Union Farman Goliath crash occurred on 10 February 1930 when a

Farman F.63 Goliath The Farman F.60 Goliath was a French airliner and bomber produced by the Farman Aviation Works from 1919. It was instrumental in the creation of early airlines and commercial routes in Europe after World War I. Design and development The ''Go ...

of Air Union crashed whilst attempting an emergency landing at

Marden Airfield Marden Airfield was an airfield in Marden, Kent, United Kingdom. It was operation from 1917 to 1935. Initially a Royal Flying Corps airfield during the First World War it was used post-war as an Emergency Landing Strip, RAF Marden by the Royal ...

, Kent following the failure of the starboard tailplane. Two of the six people on board were killed.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was Farman F.63 Goliath F-FHMY, c/n 267. The aircraft was built as a F.60 Goliath and registered in April 1921 to Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens, passing in February 1924 to Compagnie Air Union. On 14 November 1925, it had ditched off

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

and had been badly damaged. The aircraft was given a complete overhaul, returning to service in 1929. The rebuilt aircraft was classified as a F.63 Goliath.

Accident

The aircraft departed Le Bourget at 10:40 am bound for Croydon. It was carrying three French crew and three English passengers. Fifteen minutes after take-off, an engine problem resulted in a return to Le Bourget. No problem was found but the

spark plug A spark plug (sometimes, in British English, a sparking plug, and, colloquially, a plug) is a device for delivering electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine to ignite the compressed fuel/air ...

s were changed as a precaution and the aircraft departed for Croydon again. After the aircraft had passed Staplehurst, a snapping noise came from the tailplane and the aircraft lost in altitude. The starboard tailplane had failed. One of the mechanics told the passengers that an emergency landing was to be attempted. The passengers were asked to move to the rear of the cabin. Just before 1 pm, as the aircraft attempted to land at

, the pilot cut power to the engines at an altitude of . The aircraft then rose to an altitude of about and then stalled and crashed. A few seconds later, fire broke out in the wreckage of the airliner. One of the passengers managed to escape on his own. The pilot was pulled from the wreckage by one of the two mechanics. Villagers rushed to the aid of the victims, but the survivors had all escaped from the wreckage by the time the first of them arrived. Two of the passengers, who were returning from honeymoon in Paris, were killed. The injured were taken to the West Kent Hospital, Maidstone. An inquest was opened by the Cranbrook

Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

on 12 February at Pagehurst Farm, Staplehurst into the deaths of the victims. Witnesses gave evidence of the failure of the starboard elevator. The inquest was adjourned initially to 13 March in the expectation that the crew of the aircraft would be fit enough to attend. The inquest resumed on 28 March at Staplehurst. Evidence was produced to show that the aircraft was airworthy when it departed Paris, and that the actions of the crew were correct. The 1921-built aircraft had been completely overhauled and had returned to service in 1929, following the ditching in 1925. The cause of death in each case was shock and smoke inhalation. A verdict of "Accidental Death" was returned in both cases.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Air Union Farman Goliath case Aviation accidents and incidents in 1930 Aviation accidents and incidents in Kent Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight structural failure Borough of Maidstone 1930 in the United Kingdom 1930s in Kent 1930 disasters in the United Kingdom Airliner accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom February 1930 events