Croydon - Paris

On April 7, 1922 at 02:00 PM, Croydon - Paris experienced a crash involving De Havilland DH.18, operated by Daimler Airway, with the event recorded near Thieuloy-Saint-Antoine Oise.

The flight was categorized as postal (mail) and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

2 people were known to be on board, 2 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 2, crew fatalities: 2, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The aircraft was completing a regular schedule flight from Paris-Le Bourget to Croydon with three passengers and a crew of two on board. While cruising at a height of 500 feet in foggy conditions, the aircraft collided with a De Havilland DH.18A operated by Daimler Airway and registered G-EAWO. It appears that the DH.18 hit the upper left wing of the Farman which detached. Both aircraft crashed in an open field (a piece of wing crashed on the roof of a house) and were destroyed. While the British pilot was seriously injured, all other six occupants were killed. The only survivor died from his injuries few hours later. The collision occurred in Thieuloy-Saint-Antoine, some four km south of Grandvilliers and 27 km north of Beauvais, Oise. At the time of the accident, the visibility was reduced due to fog. First collision in commercial aviation history. Crew: Robin E. Duke, pilot Edward Hesterman, steward.

Aircraft reference details include registration G-EAWO, MSN DH.18/04, year of manufacture 1921.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 49.6337°, 1.9461°.