1934 Air France Wibault 282T crash
Encyclopedia
The 1934 Air France Wibault 282T crash occurred on 9 May 1934 when Wibault 282T-12 F-AMHY of Air France
crashed into the English Channel
off Dungeness, Kent, United Kingdom whilst operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Le Bourget, Paris, France to Croydon
, Surrey, United Kingdom. All six people on board were killed.
, c/n 8. The aircraft had entered service with Air Union
on 21 August 1933, passing to Air France on formation.
, Surrey, United Kingdom. It was carrying three crew and three passengers. The aircraft had taken off from Le Bourget at 11:15 local time
(10:15 GMT
) and passed over Le Tréport
, Seine-Maritime at 12:10. At 12:19, a radio fix
obtained from Croydon established that the aircraft was 18½ miles (29.8 km) west by south of Boulogne
, Pas-de-Calais. There were no further messages received from the aircraft. The weather at the time included low clouds.
At 17:20 GMT, the Folkestone
lifeboat
was launched with instructions to search the sea at a position 12 miles (19.3 km) south east by south of Dungeness, where it was reported that wreckage had been observed. The Dover
lifeboat also joined the search. No trace of the aircraft was found during the search, which was hampered by thick fog. The Folkestone lifeboat did not return to its station until after 22:00 GMT. The lack of an SOS
call from the aircraft indicated that it had crashed into the sea whilst attempting to fly below the low cloudbase. On 18 May, a mailbag from the aircraft was washed up on the French coast.
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
crashed into the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
off Dungeness, Kent, United Kingdom whilst operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Le Bourget, Paris, France to Croydon
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...
, Surrey, United Kingdom. All six people on board were killed.
Aircraft
The accident aircraft was Wibault 282T-12 F-AMHPAircraft registration
An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
, c/n 8. The aircraft had entered service with Air Union
Air Union
Air Union was a French airline established 1 January 1923 as the result of a merger between the airlines Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes and Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens...
on 21 August 1933, passing to Air France on formation.
Accident
The aircraft was operating a scheduled international passenger flight from Le Bourget, Paris, France to CroydonCroydon Airport
Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...
, Surrey, United Kingdom. It was carrying three crew and three passengers. The aircraft had taken off from Le Bourget at 11:15 local time
UTC+1
UTC+01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as .This time is used in:*Central European Time*West Africa Time*Western European Summer Time**British Summer Time**Irish Standard Time...
(10:15 GMT
Greenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is arguably the same as Coordinated Universal Time and when this is viewed as a time zone the name Greenwich Mean Time is especially used by bodies connected with the United...
) and passed over Le Tréport
Le Tréport
Le Tréport is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A small fishing port and light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux, some northeast of Dieppe at the junction of the D940, the D78 and the D1015 roads...
, Seine-Maritime at 12:10. At 12:19, a radio fix
Radio fix
In telecommunication and position fixing, the term radio fix has the following meanings:*The locating of a radio transmitter by bearings taken from two or more direction finding stations, the site of the transmitter being at the point of intersection....
obtained from Croydon established that the aircraft was 18½ miles (29.8 km) west by south of Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, Pas-de-Calais. There were no further messages received from the aircraft. The weather at the time included low clouds.
At 17:20 GMT, the Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
was launched with instructions to search the sea at a position 12 miles (19.3 km) south east by south of Dungeness, where it was reported that wreckage had been observed. The Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
lifeboat also joined the search. No trace of the aircraft was found during the search, which was hampered by thick fog. The Folkestone lifeboat did not return to its station until after 22:00 GMT. The lack of an SOS
SOS
SOS is the commonly used description for the international Morse code distress signal...
call from the aircraft indicated that it had crashed into the sea whilst attempting to fly below the low cloudbase. On 18 May, a mailbag from the aircraft was washed up on the French coast.
Casualties
The nationalities of the casualties were:-| Nationality | Crew | Passengers | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
 French |
2 | 2 | 4 |
 British |
1 | – | 1 |
 SwissSwitzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
– | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 3 | 3 | 6 |