The August 1926 Air Union Blériot 155 crash happened on 18 August 1926 at Hurst, Kent when

Blériot 155 The Blériot 155 (or Bl-155) was a French airliner of the 1920s. It was a four-engined biplane developed from the Blériot 115 and 135, but larger than these aircraft. Two were built for use by Air Union on their Paris-London route. Both were ...

F-AIEB of

Air Union Air Union was a French airline established January 1, 1923, as the result of a merger between the airlines ''Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes'' and '' Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens''. Air Union was merged with four other French airli ...

hit a barn and crashed whilst attempting to make a forced landing in bad weather. Two passengers were killed in the accident, and the pilot died a day later.

Aircraft

The accident aircraft was Blériot 155

registration Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), the ...

F-AIEB '' Wilbur Wright'', c/n 2. The aircraft had been registered to Air Union on 27 June 1926, and had flown for 47¼ hours at the time of the accident.

Accident

On 18 August 1926, the aircraft departed Le Bourget Airport, Paris at 12:30 pm

local time Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...

(11:30

GMT Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a cons ...

), bound for

Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main air ...

. On board were the pilot and his mechanic, and 13 passengers. At 1:56 pm GMT, a radio report was made to

Saint-Inglevert Saint-Inglevert (; vls, Santingeveld) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Topnymy The etymology of Saint-Inglevert, first attested as ''Sontingeveld'' in 1140, is now generally agreed to deri ...

that the aircraft was crossing the coast at Berck-Plage. The crossing of 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 ...

was made in conditions of poor visibility, with heavy drizzle. Reported weather conditions at

Lympne Lympne (), formerly also Lymne, is a village on the former shallow-gradient sea cliffs above the expansive agricultural plain of Romney Marsh in Kent. The settlement forms an L shape stretching from Port Lympne Zoo via Lympne Castle facing Lympne ...

at 1:15 pm GMT were continuous rain and fog, visibility , cloudbase less than . Visibility had halved in the preceding 20 minutes. It was reported that an engine failed as the aircraft crossed the English coast. At 2:30 pm GMT, the pilot attempted to make a forced landing in a large field at College Farm, Hurst, Aldington, some west of

Lympne Airport Lympne Airport , was a military and later civil airfield , at Lympne, Kent, United Kingdom, which operated from 1916 to 1984. During the First World War RFC Lympne was originally an acceptance point for aircraft being delivered to, and returni ...

. The aircraft clipped the roof of a barn and then hit three stacks before crashing to the ground. The farmer and two farmhands were missed by . Two of the 13 passengers were killed in the crash. Both crew and the other eleven passengers were injured. The pilot was seriously injured, and died in hospital on 19 August. The farmer and farmhands rescued the injured people from the wrecked aircraft. Two of the passengers were able to extricate themselves from the wreckage but the other 11 passengers were more seriously injured. They had been thrown forwards in the accident, one woman had been forced through the side of the fuselage. The local

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

attended and assisted in the evacuation of the injured from the scene.

Hurdle A hurdle (UK English, limited US English) is a moveable section of light fence. In the United States, terms such as "panel", "pipe panel" or simply "fence section" are used to describe moveable sections of fencing intended for agricultural us ...

s were improvised as makeshift stretchers and the injured were taken into the barn until ambulances arrived from

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada England * T ...

and Lympne. They were taken to hospital in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

. Many of the injured suffered multiple fractures. An inquest into the deaths of the passengers was held at College Farm on 19 August. Evidence was given that the aircraft had been inspected before the flight, and a certificate that it was fit to fly had been issued by

Bureau Veritas Bureau Veritas is a French company specialized in testing, inspection and certification founded in 1828. It operates in a variety of sectors, including building and infrastructure (27% of revenue), agri-food and commodities (23% of revenue), ...

. The aircraft was capable of flying on three engines. The cause of death of both passengers was ruptures to their lungs. A verdict of Accidental death was given in both cases. The inquest into the death of the pilot was held on 26 August in Folkestone. Evidence given at the inquest into the deaths of the passengers showed that the pilot was experienced, having started his flying career with the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He had been employed by Air Union for three years. A verdict of accidental death was returned.

Casualties

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:August 1926 Air Union Bleriot 155 crash Aviation accidents and incidents in 1926 Aviation accidents and incidents in Kent Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight structural failure Borough of Ashford 1926 in the United Kingdom 1926 disasters in the United Kingdom Airliner accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom August 1926 events

Aircraft

Accident

Casualties

See also

References