Tripoli – Blackbushe

On November 5, 1956 at 11:52 PM, Tripoli – Blackbushe experienced a crash involving Handley Page H.P.81 Hermes, operated by Britavia, with the event recorded near Blackbushe Hampshire.

The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

80 people were known to be on board, 7 fatalities were recorded, 73 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 8.8%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 74, passenger fatalities: 4, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The aircraft was flying under charter to the Air Ministry and had flown from Idris Airport, Tripoli with a crew of 6 and 74 passengers, nearly all members of servicemen's families. Shortly before midnight, on landing at Blackbushe in poor visibility, the aircraft undershot the runway, hit a beech tree 3,617 feet short of the threshold, swung sharply to port, came down among pine trees about 3,000 feet from the beech tree and caught fire. Three crew members were killed by the impact and four children lost their lives due to fire.

Aircraft reference details include registration G-ALDJ, MSN 81/11, year of manufacture 1950.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 51.3242°, -0.8451°.