ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 66289
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| Date: | Wednesday 12 April 1933 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Avro 616 Avian IVM |
| Owner/operator: | Edward William Lancaster |
| Registration: | G-ABLK |
| MSN: | 523 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Sahara Desert, Tanezrouft, 170 miles south of Reggane, Adrar -
 Algeria
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Reggane, Algeria |
| Gao, Mali | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Avro 616 Avian IVM: Registered as G-ABLK [C of R 3135] 17.4.31 to Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith; named "Southern Cross Minor". C of A 3138 issued 21.7.31. UK Registration G-ABLK cancelled as "sold abroad" 10.32. Re-registered in Australia as VH-UQG [C of R 438] 16.9.31 to Sir Charles E Kingsford-Smith, Sydney; still named “Southern Cross Minor”.
Australian Registration VH-UQG cancelled 16.8.32 as "sold". Re-registered in the UK again G-ABLK [C of R 4312] 5.4.33 to Edward William [Bill] Lancaster, London SW.1 (aircraft based at Croydon Airport, Croydon, Surrey).
The Avian went missing in the Sahara on 14.4.33. Edward William Lancaster, owner of the aircraft, was performing an international private flight within Africa when the aircraft crashed in the Algerian Sahara desert. As the aircraft did not arrive at the intended destination, Gao in Mali, SAR operations were conducted but no trace of the aircraft nor the pilot was found so all operations were eventually suspended after few days. According to the following entry on Wikipedia (see link #7):
"Lancaster decided to attempt the hotly contested England-to-South Africa speed record. Purchasing the Avro Avian Southern Cross Minor from Charles Kingsford Smith, he departed England on 11 April 1933. As the Avian was considerably slower than other aircraft of the time, Lancaster would have to make very short stops and get very little sleep to have any hope of achieving the record.
Having got lost several times, having not slept for 30 hours and being ten hours behind his intended time, Lancaster departed from Reggane on the evening of 12 April to make a 750 mi (1,210 km) night crossing of the Sahara. The Avian's engine failed after less than an hour's flying, and he crash-landed in the desert far north of his expected flight path. Relatively uninjured and occasionally firing flares he awaited rescue. Searches by aircraft however were too far to the south, and a car searching from Reggane was also unsuccessful. Lancaster died eight days later, on 20 April 1933. His final message, written on a fuel card on the morning of the 20th, was "So the beginning of the eighth day has dawned. It is still cool. I have no water. I am waiting patiently. Come soon please. Fever wracked me last night. Hope you get my full log. Bill"
On or about 10.2.62 a French Foreign Legion patrol discovered the wreckage of the aircraft at Tanezrouft, 170 miles south of Reggane, Adrar, Algeria (at approximate co ordinates 22°15′ 3.6″ N, 2°14′ 45.6″ W). Lancaster's body had been mummified by the desert heat and the dry conditions, and his diary and personal effects had survived intact. Lancaster's body was recovered and buried at Reggane, Algeria."
Registration G-ABLK cancelled by the Air Ministry on 2.11.33. The wreck of G-ABLK "Southern Cross Minor" was recovered in 1975. It now resides in the Queensland Museum in Brisbane but is now held in storage and no longer on public display.
Sources:
1. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-gb-registers-g-ab
2. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-ABLK.pdf
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A3.html
4. https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1254845/
5. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/avian.pdf
6. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-616-avian-ivm-tanezrouft-desert-1-killed
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Lancaster_(aviator)#Final_flight
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanezrouft
9. https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?91477-Avro-Avian-1933-1962-Now
10. http://www.historynet.com/bill-lancaster-lost-in-the-sahara-after-attempting-to-break-the-england-cape-town-flight-speed-record.htm
Media:
Wreckage of Avro Avian G-ABLK on display in Queensland Museum in Brisbane in 1996:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Jul-2009 04:19 | VHKDK | Added |
| 21-Dec-2012 13:36 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2012 13:37 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 05-Dec-2017 16:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 05-Dec-2017 16:28 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 05-Dec-2017 16:29 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 06-Dec-2017 21:35 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Apr-2022 13:31 | Ron Averes | Updated [Damage] |
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