1948 Heathrow disaster

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1948 Heathrow disaster
Douglas DC-3D OO-AUM Sabena Ringway 08.07.49 edited-3.jpg
A Sabena DC-3, similar to the accident aircraft
Accident
Date2 March 1948 (1948-03-02)
SummaryPoor weather conditions and pilot error
Site Heathrow Airport
Aircraft
Aircraft type Douglas DC-3C
Operator Sabena
Registration OO-AWH
Flight origin Brussel-Zaventem airport (BRU/EBBR), Belgium
Destination London Airport (LHR/EGLL), United Kingdom
Occupants22
Passengers19
Crew3
Fatalities20
Injuries2
Survivors2

The 1948 Heathrow disaster was the crash of a Douglas DC-3C of the Belgian airline Sabena at Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom on 2 March, 1948. It was the first major accident at Heathrow Airport; of the 22 people on board 20 were killed, of whom most had British nationality. [1]

Contents

Aircraft

The DC-3 involved was built in 1947 with serial number 43154 and registration OO-AWH and was used by the Belgian airline company Sabena from 21 March 1947 until its destruction in 1948. It was built for a US military contract but was never delivered and was the last DC-3 to be built by Douglas. [2]

Crash

The Sabena flight departed from Brussels, Belgium en route to London, United Kingdom under the command of pilot Henri Goblet and radio officer Jean Lomba.

NationalityPassengersCrewTotal
TotalKilledTotalKilledTotalKilled
Belgium 003333
United Kingdom 1312001312
Poland 210021
United States 110011
Italy 110011
Switzerland 110011
Cuba 110011
Total1917332220

[3]

Workers in a hangar nearby saw the aircraft crash on the runway and quickly went to the survivors' aid. When they reached the aircraft, there was utter devastation; only the tail section of the aircraft was left intact. However, there were survivors and the workers quickly pulled a few passengers from the burning wreckage. They could hear the screams of those still trapped in the inferno and despite all their efforts those people perished. When emergency personnel finally arrived on the scene, there was no one left to save. It was later concluded that a high number of passengers survived the crash but died in the blaze either by burning to death or smoke inhalation. The three survivors were badly burned and were quickly taken to the hospital, where one of them soon died from his injuries. One of the survivors was former MP Otho Nicholson. [4]

Aftermath

Following the crash, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Civil Aviation stipulated that ground-controlled approaches would no longer be available to aircraft landing in conditions of less than 150 feet (46 m) vertical visibility and 800 yards (730 m) horizontal visibility except in an emergency. [5] In the wake of the crash and that of a Douglas DC-4 two months later, Sabena postponed its 25th anniversary celebrations that had been scheduled for the end of May 1948. [6] [7] The two airport workers who entered the burning wreckage to rescue survivors, Harold Bending and Angus Brown, were awarded the George Medal in June 1948. [8] [9]

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The 1948 Sabena Douglas C-47 crash was an aviation accident that occurred on 31 August 1948, near Kimbwe, in the Belgian Congo. The aircraft, a Douglas C-47A-10-DK registered as OO-CBL, was operated by the Belgian airline Sabena. It was en route from Manono to Élizabethville, when it suddenly went out of control during its approach to the airport and crashed. All 13 people on board, including four crew members, were killed. The exact cause of the crash remains undetermined despite favorable weather conditions at the time.

References

  1. ↑ Rampen in België. Lannoo Uitgeverij. 2005. p. 67. ISBN   978-90-209-6216-1.
  2. ↑ "London air crash Dakota bursts into flames". thetimes.co.uk. 3 March 2003. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "OO-AWH". issuu.com. 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "19 killed in crash of Dakota". gov.au. 4 March 1948. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  5. ↑ "Civil Aviation News: Sabena Crash and G. C. A." Flight. London: 280. 11 March 1948. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Sabena's 25th Anniversary". Flight. London: 584. 27 May 1948. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  7. ↑ Accident descriptionfor Douglas DC-4 OO-CBE at the Aviation Safety Network . Retrieved on 18 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Here and There: Life-saving Awards". Flight. London: 6. 1 July 1948. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "No. 38329". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 June 1948. p. 1.

51°30′N0°26′W / 51.500°N 0.433°W / 51.500; -0.433

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