De Havilland DH.16

Aircraft Transport %26 Travel - AT%26T

The pilot, Captain Bayliss, was performing a regular schedule flight from Paris-Le Bourget to Croydon. En route, south of Maidstone, Kent, he encountered technical problems and made an emergency landing in a field located in Marden. All four passengers disembarked and continued their trip to London by train. During the day, the airplane was repaired and took off again in the evening to Croydon, this time with three passengers on board, the farmer (owner of the field where the pilot completed the emergency landing), his wife and a friend. While cruising south of Dartford in twilight, the pilot encountered engine trouble and elected to make another emergency landing. He reduced his altitude and elected to land in Swanley Junction. Upon landing in a cornfield, the aircraft crashed and came to rest upside down. The pilot and two passengers were slightly injured while another passenger (Mrs Madeline Day), was seriously injured. She died one year later at the age of 28 from kidney failure which the coroner concluded at the inquest, was directly attributable to the accident.

Aircraft Transport %26 Travel - AT%26T

Thew pilot was performing a mail flight from Paris-Le Bourget to Hounslow Heath. While overflying the Channel, he encountered low visibility due to fog and his compass failed. He sighted a boat (SS Selarus) and circled around it to attract attention. Eventually, he ditched the aircraft off the Beachy Head coast, near Eastbourne. He was quickly rescued by the crew of the boat and the aircraft was lost.