The 1954 Swissair Convair CV-240 crash occurred on 19 June 1954 when a
Swissair Convair CV-240
The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inro ...
ditched in the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
off
Folkestone, Kent, having run out of fuel. Although all on board survived the ditching of the aircraft, three people drowned, as they could not swim and there were no lifejackets carried on board the aircraft. At the time of the accident, these were not required to be carried on flights where the time over water was less than 30 minutes flying time.
Aircraft
The accident aircraft was
Convair CV-240
The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inro ...
HB-IRW, c/n 61. The aircraft had first flown in 1948.
Named ''
Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
'', the aircraft had entered service with
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
and was sold to Swissair on 28 November 1953 for
CHF 2,270,000.
Accident
The accident flight was a scheduled international passenger flight from
Cointrin Airport
Geneva Airport ,, german: Flughafen Genf, it, Aeroporto di Ginevra, rm, Eroport de Genevra formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport, is the international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It ...
, Geneva, Switzerland to
Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom.
Prior to performing the accident flight, the aircraft had operated a flight from London to Geneva.
While crossing the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
at an altitude of , the pilot noticed that the gauges were indicating low quantities of fuel. The port engine then stopped and the propeller was feathered. The pilot initiated a diversion to
RAF Manston
Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpo ...
.
The starboard engine then stopped too. A successful ditching was made off
Folkestone, Kent at about 11 pm.
The crash was heard by a
crane driver at , who reported the fact to the berthing master. Four
British Railways staff rowed a boat out to the scene of the accident, which they reached in about 30 minutes. Five survivors were picked up and transferred to the , which had gone to assist.
Lifeboats
Lifeboat may refer to:
Rescue vessels
* Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape
* Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues
* Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen
A ...
from
Dover and
Dungeness
Dungeness () is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the hamlet ...
and
helicopters
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
from RAF Manston and also searched for survivors. A sixth survivor was rescued by ''Southern Queen'', with the other five being transferred to her. They were landed in Folkestone and taken to the
Royal Victoria Hospital. Three of the passengers survived the ditching, but later drowned.
[
The body of one of the victims was discovered at St Margaret's Bay on 27 June.][ Another victim's body was washed up in the ]Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. The body of the third victim had not been found by the time an inquest was held in August 1954 at Ashford, Kent. A verdict of "misadventure" was returned in the case of the two victims whose bodies had been recovered. Although the skill of the pilot in effecting the ditching was praised by the Coroner, he was also criticised both flight crew for not going to the assistance of the passengers after the ditching.
Investigation
The accident was investigated by the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. It was discovered that the aircraft had not been refuelled at Geneva before departing for London. The aircraft held of fuel, but departed from Geneva with what was left of this quantity after the previous flight from London had been performed.[ The fuel had been ordered, but was not delivered to the aircraft. The captain apparently did not notice any discrepancy in the gauges on departure from Geneva.][
]
Consequences
Both flight crew were suspended by Swissair following the accident. After the cause of the accident was established, they were dismissed. As a result of the accident, Swissair subsequently carried lifesaving equipment on all cross-Channel flights, even though regulations then in force did not require this.[ Lifesaving equipment only needed to be carried on flights where the time over water exceeded 30 minutes.][
]
Casualties
The nationalities of the casualties were -
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swissair Convair CV-240 crash
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1954
Aviation accidents and incidents in Kent
Folkestone
1954 disasters in the United Kingdom
Airliner accidents and incidents involving ditching
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by fuel exhaustion
Accidents and incidents involving the Convair CV-240 family
1954
History of the English Channel
1950s in Kent
June 1954 events in the United Kingdom