London Biggin Hill Airport - Accidents

Accidents

• On 18 June 1951, three Meteors crashed and their pilots were killed in accidents, all three crashing in an area of about 100 yd (91 m). The first, a Meteor VIII piloted by Flight Lieutenant Gordon McDonald of 41 Squadron, crashed shortly after take-off, corkscrewing as pieces of structure fell from the aircraft. The aircraft hit a bungalow, killing the pilot. The jet wash of his flight leader was named as a possible cause. Within seconds of this accident two Mark IV Meteors of 600 Sqn, piloted by Sergeant Kenneth Clarkson and Squadron Leader Phillip Sandeman, both circling over the wreckage and preparing to land, collided at 2,000 ft (610 m) above the scene. Although Sandeman managed to bail out, he was killed when his parachute failed to open. Clarkson was killed in his aircraft. A week after this incident, another Meteor overshot the runway, narrowly missing passing cars. After these incidents, several residents stated they would be "selling up" and there were calls for traffic lights to be installed on the Bromley road for use during take-offs and landings.

• On 15 May 1977, during the annual International Air Fair, a Bell 206 was in a mid-air collision with a de Havilland Tiger Moth at the airport. The Tiger Moth landed but the Bell 206 crashed, killing all five on board.

• On 21 September 1980 a Douglas B-26 Invader (registered N3710G) crashed during an air display. The aircraft was attempting to carry out a climbing roll in front of the crowd when the nose dropped sharply, and the aircraft continued rolling until it dropped vertically into a valley. The pilot and seven passengers were killed. The Civil Aviation Authority subsequently introduced rules preventing passengers from being carried during air displays.

• On 2 June 2001 a vintage de Havilland Vampire jet crashed during an air display, killing both pilots. The Vampire had been flying a display in tandem with a de Havilland Sea Vixen aircraft, and the likely cause of the accident was that the Vampire's flight path had been disrupted by wake turbulence from the larger aircraft.

• On 3 June 2001 a 1944 Bell P-63 Kingcobra crashed during a display, killing the pilot. The American Second World War fighter aircraft had been flying an unplanned sequence, when the pilot lost control at the top of a climbing manoeuvre and was unable to recover from the resulting dive. The aircraft impacted the ground to the west of the runway in a steep nose-down attitude.

• On 22 October 2005 a two-seat Piper Tomahawk aircraft on a training flight crashed shortly after take-off from Biggin Hill, killing the flight instructor and his student. The aircraft came down in a residential street, Victoria Gardens, but there were no casualties on the ground. The cause of the accident was found to be a worn fuel filler cap that had allowed water to seep into the fuel tank.

• On 30 March 2008 a Cessna Citation 501 aircraft crashed into a housing estate north of the airfield, killing all five people on board. Shortly after take-off from Biggin Hill, the pilot had reported severe engine vibration and was attempting to return to the airfield when the aircraft crashed. An investigation concluded that both engines had been shut down (possibly inadvertently) during the course of the short flight. Among those killed were Eurosport commentator and former Touring Car driver David Leslie and ex-Le Mans driver Richard Lloyd.