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 | |
![]() 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 hr.[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.[2]
The two aircraft collided at 4500 ft near the village of Exhall, near Coventry in Warwickshire.[1][2] The wreckage fell near an old peoples' home, the Exhall Lodge Hospital. There were no survivors.[2]
Although the weather at the time of the crash was clear,[4] 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
- ^ 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 "Civil Aviation News:Dakota-Anson Collision". Flight (6 October 1949): 471–472.
- ^ "Civil Aviation News:Dakota-Anson Collision". Flight (24 February 1949): 231.
- Aviation accidents and incidents in England
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 1949
- Accidents and incidents involving Royal Air Force aircraft
- Mid-air collisions
- 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 events in the United Kingdom
- Airliner accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom