Charleroi – London-Gatwick

On July 11, 1969 at 04:42 PM, Charleroi – London-Gatwick experienced a crash involving De Havilland DH.114 Heron, operated by Cogeair - Compagnie Générale Aérienne Africaine, with the event recorded near Ruddervoorde West Flanders.

The flight was categorized as ferry and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

1 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 1 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 1, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The airplane arrived in Charleroi on January 24 and was parked there since. In June, a ferry permit was issued and on July 11, it was decided to ferry the airplane from Charleroi to London-Gatwick Airport. The pilot departed Charleroi-Gosselies Airport at 1551LT. At 1634LT, while at cruising altitude, the engine n°4 suffered vibrations and the pilot decided to shut it down. Three minutes later, the engine n°3 emitted smoke then caught fire. The pilot was able to shut it down but for unknown reason could not feather its propeller. He reduced his altitude and attempted to make an emergency landing when the airplane struck trees and crash landed in a potatoes field. The pilot was unhurt while the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair. The pilot's total flying hours was 8,530 with zero experience on this type of aircraft.

Aircraft reference details include registration TN-ABA, MSN 14034, year of manufacture 1953.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 51.0953°, 3.2048°.