Date:	Monday 13 May 1912
Time:	18:00
Type:	Flanders F.3 monoplane
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:	Unregistered
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Brooklands Aerodrome, Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Brooklands Aerodrome, Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey
Destination airport:	Brooklands Aerodrome, Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey
Investigating agency:	AIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
Brighton born and Tonbridge educated aviation pioneer Edward Victor Beauchamp Fisher and his passenger, American millionaire Victor Mason, both died when their Flanders F.3 Monoplane stalled at about 100 feet and dived in off a turn at Brooklands in the late afternoon on 13 May 1912. Fisher was thrown from the aeroplane before impact (he was not strapped in), on which it burst into flames. Later that month the accident was investigated by a committee of the Royal Aeronautical Club (then British aviation's governing body), which resulted in the first ever British aircraft accident investigation report. The manufacturer of the aeroplane and its engine were consulted; eye witnesses gave evidence; and expert medical evidence was given by a doctor who had carried out an autopsy on the bodies of the two victims.

The conclusions of that Royal Aeronautical Club report were that the cause of the accident was the aviator himself, who failed sufficiently to appreciate the dangerous conditions under which he was making the turn, when the aircraft was flying tail down, and in addition was not flying in a proper manner. A side slip occurred, and Mr. Fisher lost control of the aircraft. It seems probable that his losing control was caused by his being thrown forward on to the elevating gear, thereby moving this forward involuntarily, which would have had the effect of still further turning the aircraft down. This would explain his being thrown out whilst in the air. In the opinion of the Committee it is possible that if the aviator had been suitably strapped into his seat he might have retained control of the aircraft.

Fisher had obtained his Aviator's Certificate (Nº 77) just over a year before the crash, having learnt to fly with the Hanriot School at Brooklands. Subsequently he became an instructor with the school. Also he'd worked with A.V.Roe and Howard Flanders, whose monoplane he was flying at the time of the crash. He was just 24 years old when he died. He was interred in Weybridge Cemetery. Pilot and passenger were killed:

Edward Victor Beauchamp Fisher (aged 24) killed 13/5/1912 - buried Weybridge Cemetery
Victor Louis Mason (aged 40) killed (American National) killed 13/5/1912 - Buried Delawanna, Passaic County, New Jersey, USA

1. Aeroplane accident at Brooklands". The Times (39898). London. 14 May 1912. col F, p. 9.
2. The Brooklands aeroplane accident. The Times (39900). London. 16 May 1912. col G, p. 5.
3. 100 Years of Aircraft Accident Investigation. Air Accidents Investigation Branch. 8 June 2012
4. Flight magazine 11 January 1913: https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1912/1912%20-%200513.html
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders_F.2
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1912_Brooklands_Flanders_Monoplane_crash#Accident
7. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=16980.0
8. http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/8%20June%201912%20Royal%20Aero%20Club%20notice.pdf
9. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/air-accidents-investigation-branch/about

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-Jan-2018 20:55	harro	Added
16-Nov-2018 23:20	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
15-May-2019 12:31	harro	Updated [Source, Photo]
20-Jul-2020 22:37	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Registration, Source, Narrative]
20-Jul-2020 22:42	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
24-Dec-2021 11:25	harro	Updated [Accident report, Photo]