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Date: | Wednesday 12 February 1947 |
Time: | day |
Type: | Avro Anson Mk I |
Owner/operator: | C.L. Air Surveys |
Registration: | G-AHKJ |
MSN: | EG413 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Croydon Airport, Croydon, Surrey -
United Kingdom
|
Phase: | Landing |
Nature: | Survey |
Departure airport: | Croydon Airport (EGCR), Surrey |
Destination airport: | |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:Ex-RAF Anson Mk. I EG413. Civil registered as G-AHKJ on 21.5.46 to CL Air Surveys Ltd. (C of A 7884/C of R 13132/1). Civil registration cancelled 13.3.47 as "crashed, beyond repair 12.2.47". Believed to have written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed on landing at Croydon Airport, Croydon, Surrey.
On 12 February 1947 the Anson took off from Croydon Aerodrome on an aerial photographic flight. On its return to Croydon, it seems that it undershot the runway, crashing in a field outside the aerodrome perimeter. I have not been able to determine the cause of the crash. However, both occupants escaped the crash uninjured although the Anson was damaged beyond repair.
There seems to be some confusion as to the date of the crash. A J Jackson gives this as 12 March 1947 whereas the ASN and BAAA (and other) websites give the date as 12 February 1947. This could be due to the rather equivocal handwritten de-registration entry on the CAA registration card for G-AHKJ, from which the badly written month number could be read as either 2 or 3!
However, what probably settles the matter once and for all is the official Air Ministry Accident investigation record, now held at the National Archives at Kew. The file - BT 217/1274 (see link #5) - states "Accident to CL Air Surveys Ltd Anson aircraft G-AHKJ; Croydon Airport, 12 Feb. 1947: contravention of Air Navigation (Consolidation) Order, 1923 and Directions"
The winter of 1946-1947 was one of the coldest on record. In January 1947 the heavy snow started and more or less effected every part of Europe and lasted until the thaw started in mid-March, which then brought flooding to low level areas. There is a possibility that Anson G-AHKJ went up to photograph the snow or the effects of the start of the thaw and was a victim of the weather on its return.
Sources:
1. The Anson File (Ray Sturdivant, Air Britain, 1988 p 94)
2.
https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AHKJ.pdf 3.
http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=14220.0 4.
https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-652a-anson-i-croydon 5. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT 217/1274:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C575428 6.
http://www.airportofcroydon.com/Disasters.html Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
27-Sep-2008 01:00 |
ASN archive |
Added |
20-Mar-2012 01:29 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
19-Nov-2019 01:47 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
25-Nov-2019 22:13 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Source, Narrative] |
25-Nov-2019 22:13 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Aircraft type] |
21-May-2023 20:24 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [[Aircraft type]] |