1938 Jersey Airport disaster
Encyclopedia
The 1938 Jersey Airport disaster occurred at 10:50am on Friday 4 November 1938 when the Jersey Airways
de Havilland D.H.86 airliner
St Catherine's Bay (G-ACZN) crashed in the parish of Saint Brélade, 500 yards east of Jersey Airport
, killing the pilot and all twelve passengers on board as well as farm hand Edmund Le Cornu, who was working on the ground. In terms of loss of life, it was the worst crash of a rigid aircraft
on British
territory to date and the second-worst overall crash of a British rigid aircraft after the crash of an Imperial Airways
airliner in Belgium
in 1933 (in which 15 people died).
The airliner had just taken off from Jersey
en route to Southampton
. The sky was overcast, with a cloud base
of 120–150 feet. The aircraft had been fully inspected and was not carrying a full load.
The Air Ministry
investigation concluded that the accident was due to pilot error
. The pilot had made a climbing turn into the clouds and inadvertently allowed the aircraft to sideslip when he was still too close to the ground to avert disaster. The aircraft had exploded and several bodies had been thrown up to 40 feet away.
Among the dead were the daughter, son-in-law and baby granddaughter of surveyor
and aerial archaeology
pioneer G. A. Beazeley
.
Jersey Airways
Jersey Airways was an airline that operated air services to and from the Channel Islands from 1933 until 1947, when it became part of British European Airways.-History:...
de Havilland D.H.86 airliner
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
St Catherine's Bay (G-ACZN) crashed in the parish of Saint Brélade, 500 yards east of Jersey Airport
Jersey Airport
-Busiest routes:Some airlines offer services between Jersey and other destinations with an intermediate stop at Guernsey. There are also periodic charter flights to European holiday destinations, Madeira and ski destinations operated by airlines such as Aurigny Air Services, Europe Airpost, Palmair...
, killing the pilot and all twelve passengers on board as well as farm hand Edmund Le Cornu, who was working on the ground. In terms of loss of life, it was the worst crash of a rigid aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
on British
British Islands
British Islands is a term within the law of the United Kingdom which since 1889 has referred collectively to the following four states:*the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ;...
territory to date and the second-worst overall crash of a British rigid aircraft after the crash of an Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company, operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to South Africa, India and the Far East...
airliner in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in 1933 (in which 15 people died).
The airliner had just taken off from Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
en route to Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. The sky was overcast, with a cloud base
Cloud base
This article refers to meteorology. For the airborne base of the TV series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, see Cloudbase.The cloud base is the lowest altitude of the visible portion of the cloud...
of 120–150 feet. The aircraft had been fully inspected and was not carrying a full load.
The Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
investigation concluded that the accident was due to pilot error
Pilot error
Pilot error is a term used to describe the cause of an accident involving an airworthy aircraft where the pilot is considered to be principally or partially responsible...
. The pilot had made a climbing turn into the clouds and inadvertently allowed the aircraft to sideslip when he was still too close to the ground to avert disaster. The aircraft had exploded and several bodies had been thrown up to 40 feet away.
Among the dead were the daughter, son-in-law and baby granddaughter of surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
and aerial archaeology
Aerial archaeology
Aerial archaeology is the study of archaeological remains by examining them from altitude.The advantages of gaining a good aerial view of the ground had been long appreciated by archaeologists as a high viewpoint permits a better appreciation of fine details and their relationships within the wider...
pioneer G. A. Beazeley
G. A. Beazeley
Lieutenant-Colonel George Adam Beazeley DSO was a British Army officer, surveyor and one of the fathers of aerial photography in surveying, military reconnaissance and archaeology. He was probably the first person to identify aerial archaeology as an independent field.Beazeley was the son of a...
.