1952 Farnborough Airshow DH.110 crash

Infobox Airliner accident
name=Farnborough Airshow DH.110 crash
Crash

Image caption=
Date=6 September 1952
Type=Aircraft disintegration
following wing loss
Site=Farnborough Airshow,
Hampshire, England
Fatalities=31
Injuries=approximately 60 spectators
Aircraft Type=DH.110
Tail Number=WG236
Operator=de Havilland
Crew=2
Survivors =0The DH.110 crash at Farnborough Airshow was a fatal air crash that occurred on 6 September 1952, killing both crew of a de Havilland DH.110 and 29 spectators during the annual air display. The pilot, John Derry, was the first British pilot to have exceeded the speed of sound in a British plane, four years earlier to the day.

The accident investigation concluded that during the display, the starboard wing failed during a high g manoeuvre resulting in the eventual disintegration of the whole aircraft. Following the disaster, strict safety procedures were put in place and as a consequence no member of public has been killed at a British airshow since.

Crash

Derry had already completed a low-level supersonic pass of the 120,000 spectators at the 1952 SBAC air display, when he banked left to fly a wide circular turn. Heading toward the crowd at approximately 450 knots (833 km/h), he started to pull the DH.110 into a climb when the outer starboard wing, immediately followed by the outer port wing, broke off the aircraft. The dramatic change in the centre of gravity of the aircraft resulted in both engines being torn from the airframe.Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/september/6/newsid_4219000/4219540.stm
title = On this day: September 6, 1952: 'The crowd parted like the Red Sea'
accessdate = 2007-09-06
publisher = BBC News]

With the public address announcer shouting "Look out!",Cite web
url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,816970,00.html
title = Death at Farnborough
accessdate = 2007-09-06
date = 1952-09-15
publisher = Time Magazine] one engine crashed harmlessly into some parked vehicles while the other broke into two sections and ploughed into "Observation Hill", injuring and killing numerous spectators. The cockpit crashed into the runway and injured more members of the public. Derry and flight test observer Anthony Richards perished in the crash, along with 29 spectators.Cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/6/newsid_2981000/2981786.stm
title = September 6, 1952: Dozens die in air show tragedy
accessdate = 2007-09-06
publisher = BBC News]

Aftermath

Both the Queen and government minister Duncan Sandys sent messages of condolences the following day, but more significantly strict safety measures were introduced which affected the manner in which British air displays are conducted. Jet aircraft are obliged to keep at least 754 ft (230 m) from the crowd if flying straight and 1,476 ft (450 m) when performing manoeuvres and always at an altitude of at least 492 ft (150 m).

Cause

The accident report was released on 8 April 1953. It stated that the combination of forces associated with both turning and straightening out had caused an instability in the airframe structure. The D-nose leading edge arrangement was found to be at fault; while successful in lighter de Havilland aircraft such as the Vampire, the structure was compromised under stress by the heavier DH 110. The aircraft was not flown again until June 1953, and then only after significant re-design. The DH 110 was eventually developed into the successful naval fighter, the Sea Vixen. [Cite web
url = http://www.condor49ers.org.uk/vixen.htm
title = Sea Vixen
publisher = Aeroplane Naval Aircraft Archive
accessdate = 2007-09-06]

Further reading

* "John Derry, The Story of Britain's First Supersonic Pilot", Annie Bullen and Brian Rivas, (William Kimber 1982), ISBN 0718300998.

References

ee also

* List of airshow accidents