Amsterdam – Essen – Cologne – Frankfurt – Basel - Geneva

On October 30, 1930 at 10:20 AM, Amsterdam – Essen – Cologne – Frankfurt – Basel - Geneva experienced a crash involving Fokker F7, operated by Balair - Switzerland, with the event recorded near Essen-Mülheim North Rhine-Westphalia.

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

6 people were known to be on board, 3 fatalities were recorded, 3 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 50.0%.

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

The listed crash cause is human factor. While approaching Essen-Mülheim Airport following an uneventful flight from Amsterdam, the crew encountered limited visibility due to foggy conditions. On final approach, the aircraft was too low and collided with the chimney of a factory located near Kettwig. The aircraft stalled and crashed in an open field located some 3 km southwest of the airfield. All three crew members were killed while all three passengers were injured. Crew: Otto Berchtold, pilot, H. Schärli, copilot, Mr. Wagner, radio operator.

Aircraft reference details include registration CH-161, MSN 5207, year of manufacture 1930.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 51.4028°, 6.9380°.