1939 Brighton Audax crash

Last updated

1939 Brighton Audax crash
Freshfield Road plane crash.jpeg
The aftermath of the crash
Accident
Date1 February 1939 (1939-02-01)
Summary Controlled flight into terrain due to fog
Site Brighton, England
50°49′36″N0°07′11″W / 50.8267°N 0.1196°W / 50.8267; -0.1196
Total fatalities4
Total injuries1
Aircraft
Aircraft type Hawker Audax
OperatorAirports Ltd
Registration K7459
Flight origin Gatwick Airport
Destination RAF Tangmere
Occupants1
Crew1
Fatalities1
Survivors0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities3
Ground injuries1

On 11 February 1939, a Hawker Audax aircraft, registered K7459 of the No. 19 E&RFTS, en route from Gatwick Airport in Crawley to RAF Tangmere in Tangmere crashed into a house in Brighton. There were four fatalities in total: the pilot, who was the sole crew member, and a mother and her two children in the house.

Contents

Incident

K7459, a Hawker Audax I of the No. 19 E&RFTS from Gatwick Airport encountered dense fog; [1] it was en route to RAF Tangmere. Its pilot had gotten lost amid the low visibility and was far off course as he flew low in an attempt to identify any local landmarks, with people in the area reporting "the sound of a plane flying far too low". [2] He flew over Whitehawk Hill seeking a landing place and was within 50 feet (15 m) of safety when he saw a group of Wolf Cubs exercising there, so he continued to fly in order to avoid descending upon them. As he flew on he damaged some gardens, striking a greenhouse, the corner of a shed and shaving a thick hedge's upper branches. [3] It also struck a tree and lost one of its wheels after striking a wireless mast. [4]

Shortly before 3 p.m. he crashed into the outer wall of a house on Freshfield Road in the Hanover area of Brighton. It smashed into the kitchen of one of four flats within the house and had its fuel tank torn out by the force of the impact. Bricks were scattered across the street and within seconds the tank exploded and inundated the building with flames. Emergency services were at the scene promptly, however the intense heat hampered firefighting efforts and it took an hour before the fire was controlled. A policeman was injured when a part of the roof fell and struck him. [5]

Once the fire had been extinguished, an inspector found the body of 28-year-old Dorothy Baigent underneath an overturned stove; the bodies of her two daughters, Audrey and Gwendoline, aged 3 and 2, were lying nearby. The burnt remains of toys which the children had been playing with were found beside their bodies. It took five hours for the pilot's body to be identified as 22-year-old William Edward Brun. [5] The plane's engine was found embedded in the kitchen wall, having been displaced by the force of the impact. [2] The bedridden occupant of an adjoining flat, Mrs Cook, watched the whole crash in her bedroom mirror before being rescued; she was one of ten who were rescued from the building uninjured. [5] [6] When the bodies were brought out of the house a nun was seen praying on her knees in the road. [3]

Following the crash, experts reconstructed the crash and found that the plane struck within 2 feet (0.61 m) of a window which Mrs Baigent and Gwendoline were looking out of. The plane's landing gear was torn off and its fuselage drove through the wall, causing the roof to collapse. The pair were thrown against an electric stove as the fire tore through the room, however it is believed that falling debris killed all of the victims instantly as they all had severe head injuries. [3]

Aftermath

Reactions

The crash triggered a wave of sympathy throughout Brighton, with large crowds at the Baigents' funeral which was held six days later on 17 February. As the funerals started an aircraft flew overhead in salute, and the whole procession route to the cemetery was lined by thousands of people. Police had to divert the route up Elm Grove rather than using the customary Lewes Road route due to the huge crowd, which they estimated to be over 6,000 people. Brun was buried the following day in Wallington, Surrey. [2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hancock, Terry N. (August 2018). "Aircraft crashes in the South Eastern counties (Sussex, Kent, Surrey and London [south of the Thames] 1914-2009" (PDF). Air-Britain . p. 29. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Trimingham, Adam (8 August 2011). "Tragedy strikes". The Argus . Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Airman Killed 4 In Saving Boys" . News Chronicle . London. 13 February 1939. p. 9. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ↑ "Four Killed In R.A.F. Crash On House". The Telegraph . Brisbane. 13 February 1939. p. 6. Retrieved 25 May 2025– via Trove.
  5. 1 2 3 "Block Of Flats Plane Crash" . Sunday Express . No. 1050. London. 12 February 1939. p. 1. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ "Plane Strikes Flats". The Sydney Morning Herald . 13 February 1939. p. 12. Retrieved 25 May 2025– via Trove.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.