First mid-air collision of airliners

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First mid-air collision of airliners
Summary
Date 1922-04-07
Type Mid-air collision in fog
Site Thieuloy-Saint-Antoine, Picardie, France
Total fatalities 7
Total survivors 0
First aircraft
Farman F-60
Type Farman F.60
Name Goliath
Operator Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens (CGEA)
Tail number F-GEAD
Flight origin Le Bourget
Destination Croydon
Passengers 3
Crew 2
Fatalities 5
Survivors 0
Second aircraft
de Havilland DH-18A
Type de Havilland DH.18A
Operator Daimler Hire Limited
Tail number G-EAWO
Flight origin Croydon
Destination Paris
Passengers 0
Crew 2
Fatalities 2
Survivors 0

The first mid-air collision of airliners took place on 7 April 1922 over Picardie, France, involving British and French passenger-carrying biplanes.

[edit] Background

Following World War I, there was a steep decline in demand for military aircraft and their pilots. Like other countries, France and Britain turned to establishing a civilian air industry, initially converting military designs to domestic purposes.

The first Airco-designed aircraft for airline work after World War I was the de Havilland DH.18A. One aircraft owned by the Air Ministry (registration G-EAWO), was transferred from Instone Air Line to Daimler Hire Limited for operation on the Croydon-Paris route until the three de Havilland DH.34s which Daimler had on order could be delivered.[1] The service commenced that week on 2 April 1922.

The French company Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens (CGEA) was operating a Farman Goliath converted bomber (registration F-GEAD) on a daily service from Le Bourget to Croydon[1]

[edit] The flight

On 7 April 1922, four days after Daimler Hire commenced operations with the DH.18A, G-EAWO was flying mail from Croydon bound for Paris with only the pilot (Lieutenant R.E. Duke) and a boy steward (Hesterman) aboard. Meanwhile the Goliath (F-GEAD) piloted by M. Mire had departed Le Bourget with three passengers and a mechanic.[2] The three passengers were an American couple Christopher Bruce Yule and the new Mrs. Yule, and a French national, Monsieur Bouriez.[1]

Following the normal route in drizzle and fog at an altitude of 150 metres (492 ft), the DH.18A collided with the Goliath over Thieuloy-Saint-Antoine, 4 kilometres (2 mi) south of Grandvilliers in the Oise department (now part of Picardie), France, some 27 kilometres (17 mi) north of Beauvais[1][3] and some 70 miles (110 km) north of Paris. All seven people died in the first-ever mid-air collision between airliners.[4][5][6]

The weather was misty with poor visibility. The two aircraft suddenly encountered each other in the mist, neither having time to take evasive action. During the collision the DH.18 lost a wing and the tail, and impacted first, with the Goliath crashing a few minutes later. Although people on the ground quickly reached the scene, all were found to be dead except for the boy steward, who was badly injured. He was taken to the nearby village, but died of his injuries.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d "Americans Die in French Air Crash; Christopher Bruce Yule and Wife Killed on London Paris Airplane Route. Were on their Honeymoon. French and British Planes in Collision in a Fog--Six Are Dead and One Dying." New York Times, April 8, 1922, accessed 2007-12-10
  2. ^ a b "London-Paris machines collide" (1922-04-13). Flight Magazine. 
  3. ^ Jackson, Aubrey Joseph (1973). British Civil Aircraft since 1919, Vol. 2. London: Putnam. OCLC 59161340. 
  4. ^ Aviastar.org on the DH.18.
  5. ^ DH.18 from jnpassieux.chez-alice.fr (in French). Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
  6. ^ Review Of ACAS RA Downlink, An assessment of the technical feasibility and operational usefulness of providing ACAS RA awareness on CWP (pdf). Retrieved on 2007-12-07.