1949 Exhall mid-air collision
| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | 19 February 1949 |
| Summary | Mid-air collision |
| Site | Exhall, Warwickshire, United Kingdom 52°28′05″N 1°30′40″W / 52.468°N 1.511°W |
| Total fatalities | 14 |
| Total injuries | 0 |
| Total survivors | 0 |
| First aircraft | |
 A similar Douglas C-47A at Manchester Ringway Airport in 1949 | |
| Type | Douglas Dakota |
| Operator | British European Airways |
| Registration | G-AHCW |
| Flight origin | Northolt Airport, England, United Kingdom |
| Destination | Glasgow-Renfrew Airport, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Passengers | 6 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 10 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Second aircraft | |
.jpg) An Avro Anson similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Type | Avro Anson T21 |
| Operator | Royal Air Force |
| Registration | VV243 |
| Flight origin | RAF Middleton St. George, United Kingdom |
| Destination | RAF Middleton St. George, United Kingdom |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 4 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
The Exhall mid-air collision happened on Saturday 19 February 1949 over the village of Exhall when a British European Airways Douglas DC-3 / Douglas Dakota collided in clear weather with a Royal Air Force Avro Anson T21.[1]
The Dakota was on a flight from Northolt Airport near London to Glasgow-Renfrew Airport in Scotland. With a crew of four it was carrying six passengers,[2] and had taken off from Northolt at 09:13.[3] The Royal Air Force Avro Anson T21 was being operated by No. 2 Air Navigation School on a cross-country training exercise from RAF Middleton St. George to Chatteris, in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England.[2][3] It had departed at 8:09, and carried a captain, wireless operator, instructor, and a flight student.[3]
At about 10:00, the two aircraft collided at 4,500 feet (1,400 m) near the village of Exhall, near Coventry in Warwickshire.[1][2][4] Witnesses to the accident reported that the Avro struck the Dakota at the root of the airliner's right wing, which was then broken off.[4]
Upon colliding, an explosion destroyed both aircraft and flaming debris fell to the ground.[4] The wreckage fell near an old peoples' home, the Exhall Lodge Hospital, narrowly missing it.[4]. Falling debris landed on rooftops, farms, and roadways, but there were no injuries on the ground.[4] There were no survivors.[2]
Although the weather at the time of the crash was clear,[5] the accident investigation concluded that the crew of neither aircraft saw each other, possibly due to glare from the sun, and blamed the accident on a failure on the part of both captains to keep a proper look-out for other aircraft.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ a b c d "14 Killed in Air Crash". News. The Times. No. 51311. London. 21 February 1949. col D, p. 2.
- ^ a b c d "Civil Aviation News:Dakota-Anson Collision". Flight (6 October 1949): 471–472. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012.
- ^ a b c d e "Air Collision Takes 14 Lives". The Roanoke Times. Roanoke, Virginia. United Press. 20 February 1949. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Civil Aviation News:Dakota-Anson Collision". Flight (24 February 1949): 231. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012.
- Aviation accidents and incidents in England
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 1949
- Accidents and incidents involving Royal Air Force aircraft
- Mid-air collisions in the United Kingdom
- Mid-air collisions involving airliners
- Mid-air collisions involving military aircraft
- Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas C-47 Skytrain
- Accidents and incidents involving the Avro Anson
- British European Airways accidents and incidents
- 1949 in England
- 1949 disasters in the United Kingdom
- February 1949 in the United Kingdom
- Airliner accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom