ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 204228
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| Date: | Saturday 8 June 1918 |
| Time: | |
| Type: | Handley Page V/1500 |
| Owner/operator: | Handley Page Aircraft Co Ltd |
| Registration: | E4104 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Golders Green, NW London -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Cricklewood Airfield, NW London |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Construction of the aircraft could not be carried out at Handley Page’s Cricklewood factory due to other commitments such as producing the Type O bombers so a compromise was made. The components for the aircraft were built in Belfast, Ireland by Harland and Wolfe, more famous for building ships than aircraft, and then shipped to Cricklewood for final assembly. The decision to assemble the aircraft at Cricklewood and not in Belfast was possibly made for security reasons and it is likely that the War Office were concerned about pro-German (or at least anti-British) spies operating at the yard in the wake of the Easter Rising.
Assembly of the prototype, E4104, was completed at Cricklewood in May 1918 and the aircraft took to the air on May 22nd 1918 with testing being carried out shortly after.
Tragedy befell the program when on June 8th 1918 during its 13th flight E4104 crashed with Capt. Vernon E. G. Busby at the controls. While cruising along at 1,000 feet, all four engines cut out at once and so Busby attempted to turn the aircraft back to the airfield but in doing so stalled the aircraft and it entered an uncontrollable spin.
Of the six aboard four were killed in the resulting crash including Busby while a fifth crewman died shortly after from his injuries. The aircraft was completely lost in the crash so an accurate investigation couldn’t be carried out leaving the verdict of fuel starvation as the only possible explanation given the description of what happened from the only survivor.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_military_aircraft_before_1925
2. https://defenceoftherealm.wordpress.com/2015/08/06/handley-page-hp-15-v1500/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Jan-2018 13:45 | harro | Added |
| 06-May-2018 19:07 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 31-May-2018 20:11 | Anon. | Updated [Location] |
| 08-Jun-2023 05:57 | nhofmann54 | Updated [[Location]] |
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