This list of accidents and incidents on airliners in the United Kingdom summarises airline accidents that occurred within the territories claimed by the
United Kingdom (UK), with information on airline company with flight number, date, and cause.
11 December – G-EAHF, an Aircraft Transport and Travel Airco DH.4A, crashed at
Caterham on a flight from
Hounslow to
Le Bourget. The pilot and passenger were killed.[3]
15 November – a
Handley Page Type O suffered engine failure shortly after passing Lympne on a flight from Paris to
Croydon, resulting in the loss of a propeller. The aircraft made a forced landing at Lympne, damaging the undercarriage in the process.[9]
27 August –
Farman F.60 Goliath F-AECB of
Air Unioncrashed at
East Malling, Kent following the failure of an engine and passengers misunderstanding an instruction to move aft, affecting the aircraft's
centre of gravity. One of the thirteen people on board was killed.
24 April –
Fokker F.III H-NABS of
KLM departed
Lympne for
Rotterdam and
Amsterdam and was never heard of again. It was presumed to have crashed into the sea, killing the pilot and both passengers.[11]
8 February – a
Farman F.60 Goliath of Air Union crashed whilst attempting to land at Lympne. The aircraft was on a cargo flight from Paris to Croydon when an engine failed over the Channel.[12][13]
1926
18 August – Air Union
Blériot 155 F-AIEB, named Wilbur Wright, crashed at Hurst, Kent whilst attempting a forced landing due to engine failure. Of the 15 passengers and crew on board, the pilot and two passengers were killed.
2 October – Air Union Blériot 155 F-AICQ, named Clement Ader, crashed at
Leigh, Kent following a mid-air fire. All seven passengers and crew were killed.
1927
22 August – a
KLMFokker F.VIII, registration H-NADU, was on a flight from Croydon to Amsterdam when control of the aircraft was lost after the failure of the tailfin. The aircraft crashed into a tree at
Underriver, Kent killing one of the eleven people on board.
1928
13 July –
Vickers Vulcan G-EBLB of
Imperial Airways, conducting a test flight from
Croydon Airport with a pilot and five passengers on board, crashed near
Purley, Surrey, with the loss of four passengers. As a result of the crash Imperial Airways stopped the flying of staff (so called joy rides) on test flights.
1929
19 May – Air Union Farman F.63bis Goliath F-GEAI,[14] crashed at Keylands Sidings near
Paddock Wood railway station, Kent while operating a flight from Croydon to Paris. It stopped yards from the signal box and was destroyed by fire; the pilot and mechanic escaped with minor injuries.[15]
31 July –
Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens Farman Goliath F-GEAB, on a flight from London to Paris carrying gold bullion, was damaged in a forced landing near
Smarden in Kent. A hedge stopped the aircraft entering the
River Beult although some of the gold bullion it was carrying ended up in the river; the bullion was recovered by spectators.[13][16]
6 November – a
Luft HansaJunkers G 31 registered D-903 and named Oberschlesiencrashed into trees at
Godstone, Surrey. Six of the seven people on board were killed, including
Prince Eugen of Schaumburg-Lippe, who was a member of the crew; aviator and race-car driver
Glen Kidston was the only survivor. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled flight from Croydon to
Amsterdam.
1930–1939
1930
10 February – a
Farman F.63 Goliath of
Air Union, registration F-FHMY, crashed at
Marden Airfield, Kent following structural failure of the starboard elevator. Of the six people on board, two passengers were killed.
25 July –
Lioré et Olivier LeO 21 F-AIZO Golden Ray/Rayon d'Or of
Air Union made a forced landing at
Snave, Kent following an engine failure. The aircraft was subsequently dismantled and removed to
Hythe, Kent.[18]
21 July – a Walcot Air Line
Junkers F13 registered G-AAZK crashed at
Meopham, Kent; all on board were killed.
1931
17 January –
Breguet 280T F-AIVU of
Air Union crashed whilst attempting to land at
Lympne.[19][20] The aircraft caught the boundary fence and crashed onto the airfield, damaging the forward fuselage and undercarriage.[21] Of the eight people on board, one of the crew was injured.[19]
8 August –
Handley Page HP.42 G-AAGX Hannibal made a forced landing at Tatlingbury Farm,
Five Oak Green following the failure of the port lower engine whilst on a flight from Croydon to Le Bourget, Paris. The tail of the aircraft was ripped off when it struck a telegraph pole.[22]
1932
17 September –
Lioré et Olivier LeO 212 F-AIFE of Air Union crashed at Selsdon Park near Croydon on a Paris to London mail flight, pilot killed.[23][24]
29 October –
Junkers W 33 D-2017 Marmara of Luft Hansa was on a freight flight from Croydon to
Cologne when it crashed off the Kent coast.[25]
19 May – a Golden Clipper of Air France crash-landed on a
cricket pitch adjacent to
Croydon Airport, Surrey, due to fuel exhaustion. Only one of the ten people on board was injured.[26]
22 September –
Handley Page W.10, registration G-EBMM a named Youth of New Zealand of
Sir Alan Cobham's National Aviation Displays crashed into a field at
Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, four crew killed.[29]
22 December –
Air France Wilbaut 282T F-AHHO overran the airfield at Croydon and hit a house in Plough Lane, neither pilot or occupants of house seriously injured.[31]
3 July – a
Cobham Air RoutesWestland Wessex G-ADEW ditched in the English channel close to the Isle of Wight with the loss of the pilot, the one passenger was rescued.[34]
10 December – a
SabenaSavoia-Marchetti S.73 registered OO-AGN crashed at
Tatsfield, Surrey while on approach to Croydon at the end of a flight from
Brussels; all four crew and seven passengers were killed.
9 December –
Handley Page H.P.45 G-AAXD Horatius of
Imperial Airways was struck by lightning whilst flying across the Channel from Paris to Croydon. A precautionary landing was made at Lympne where it was found that minor damage had been done to a wing.[36]
13 December –
British AirwaysLockheed 14 G-AEPP landed at Croydon in a snowstorm and hit a hangar and was destroyed. All four people on board survived with slight injuries.[37]
In September, Handley Page H.P.45 G-AAXD Horatius of Imperial Airways suffered damage to its port undercarriage and lower port wing in a forced landing at Lympne; the aircraft was repaired and returned to service.[41]
22 November 1938 –
British AirwaysLockheed 14 G-AFGO crashed at Walton Bay near Portishead while on a test flight, two crew killed.[44][45]
1939
19 June – Short S.30 Empire flying boat G-AFCW Connemara of
Imperial Airways burnt out and sank at
Hythe, Hampshire during refuelling. Fire started on the refuelling barge and spread to the flying boat, one of the engineers from the barge was killed.[46]
20 November –
Airspeed Oxford G-AFFM being operated by
British Airways crashed at Gosport, Hampshire after it hit a barrage balloon cable, two crew killed.[47]
23 May –
BOACArmstrong Whitworth Ensign G-ADTA Euryalus crash-landed at
Lympne and was damaged. The aircraft was one of six that escaped after a
Luftwaffe raid on
Merville Airfield, France. The intended destination was
Croydon. Approaching the English coast, first she lost her port inner engine and the pilot set course for
Hawkinge. A short time later her starboard inner engine also had to be shut down. The pilot changed course for Lympne. On landing, the starboard undercarriage was not fully down, causing the wing to scrape the ground and the aircraft to go through a fence as no braking was attempted. Euryalus was flown to
RAF Hamble in June, but it was decided to cannibalise her to repair G-ADSU Euterpe which had been damaged in an accident at
Bonnington on 15 December 1939. Euryalus was officially written off on 15 November 1941 and scrapped in September 1942.[50]
19 December – a Railway Air Services DC-3 G-AGZA crashed into houses on departure from
RAF Northolt,
Middlesex. There were no injuries amongst the five people on board, or the occupants of the houses. The pilot had taken off with wings contaminated by ice and snow.[58][59]
1947
11 January – a
Douglas Dakota of BOAC
crashed at Stowting, Kent; eight out of 16 on board were killed.
6 January – G-AHPK a
Vickers Viking of
British European Airways crashed near Ruislip, Middlesex. Pilot was killed and some of the passengers were seriously injured.[69]
3 March –
SABENA Douglas DC-3 OO-AWH crashed while landing at
Heathrow Airport. Twenty of the 22 people on board were killed. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from
Zaventem Airport, Brussels, Belgium to Heathrow.[70]
21 April – a British European Airways
Vickers Viking G-AIVE
crashed into a mountain in Ayrshire, Scotland, no injuries to the 20 on board.
11 November – Mannin Airways
de Havilland Dragon Rapide G-AKOF on a charter flight from
Dublin to the
Ronaldsway Airport,
Isle of Man. Ronaldsway was fog-bound, and after orbiting for almost an hour, diverted to
Speke Airport, Liverpool. The Rapide ditched in the
River Mersey after the pilot reported that the aircraft was out of fuel, killing both crew and five out of the six passengers on board. The accident investigation blamed the accident on a miscalculation of the remaining fuel by the pilot, the managing director of Mannin Airways.[76][77][78][79]
6 May – G-AIFF a
Bristol Freighter on a test flight from
Filton Airport, Bristol,
Somerset, crashed into the sea off
Portland Bill, Dorset, following structural failure of the fin and rudder due to asymmetric forces experienced during a single-engine test. All seven people on board were killed.[81]
15 April – BEA Vickers Viking G-AIVL was badly damaged by a bomb that detonated in the rear toilet compartment, but managed to safely land back at Northolt, with pilot I R Harvey being awarded the
George Medal. The aircraft was later repaired and returned to service with BEA.[85]
8 March – Lancashire Aircraft Corporation
Handley Page Halifax G-AJZY was operating a non-scheduled freight flight carrying frozen reindeer carcases when it crashed at Deep Mill Farm,
Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire. All four crew were killed.[88]
1 January –
Aer LingusDouglas Dakota EI-ACF St. Kieran was destroyed when it made a forced landing near
Spernall, Warwickshire.[92] There was one serious injury amongst the 25 people on board.[93]
6 November –
Bristol Britannia G-ANCA on a test flight from
Filton Aerodrome crashed on approach to the airport, killing four crew and 11 passengers.[105]
27 February –
Manx AirlinesBristol Freighter G-AICS on a flight from the
Isle of Man Airport to Manchester Airport met hazardous weather conditions near the Pennines. The aircraft was unintentionally flown directly into
Winter Hill, killing 35 passengers. The weather that night was so severe that no one working in the nearby ITA transmitting station was aware of the crash.
2 December – Hunting Clan
Vickers Viscount G-ANRR on a post-maintenance test flight from
London Heathrow Airport crashed near Camberley in Surrey and was destroyed by fire, three crew and three passengers killed.[107]
7 January –
BEAVickers Viscount G-AOHU was damaged beyond economic repair when the nose wheel collapsed on landing at
Heathrow Airport. A fire then developed and burnt out the fuselage. There were no casualties among the 59 people on board.[109]
8 March –
SkywaysHandley Page Hermes G-ALDH starboard undercarriage collapsed during landing at London Heathrow Airport, resulting in the aircraft being written off. None of the six crew were injured in the incident.[110]
28 December - (Channel Air Bridge), Aviation Traders ATL98 'Carvair', G-ARSF, crashed on approach in a snowstorm at Rotterdam airport and overturned, killing the pilot, 3 crew + 14 pax safe
6 November –
Trans-Canada Air LinesDouglas DC-8 CF-TJM operating Flight 861 from
London Heathrow Airport to
Montreal, Quebec, Canada overran the runway after take-off was aborted. The aircraft was substantially damaged, but only a small number of minor injuries occurred amongst the seven crew and 90 passengers. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.[115]
21 September-
Aer LingusVickers Viscount EI-AKK overran the runway at
Bristol Airport on landing after a flight from
Dublin. All 21 passenger and crew were uninjured but the Viscount was damaged beyond repair in the accident.[118]
8 April –
BOACBoeing 707-465 G-ARWE sustained an engine fire on take-off from Heathrow Airport. The engine fell off in flight but the fire could not be extinguished. An emergency landing was made at Heathrow, but four people were killed in the subsequent fire. Stewardess
Barbara Jane Harrison was awarded a posthumous
George Cross for her actions in the accident. As of 2022[update], this remains the only George Cross ever awarded directly to a woman in peacetime.[119]
3 July –
BKS Air TransportAirspeed Ambassador G-AMAD crashed on landing at Heathrow Airport, London. The crashing aircraft collided with
de Havilland Tridents G-ARPI and G-ARPT before ending up embedded in
Terminal 1, which was then under construction. G-ARPT was damaged beyond economic repair. G-ARPI was repaired and returned to service, only to be lost in an accident in June 1972.
20 February –
British Midland AirwaysVickers Viscount G-AODG crashed short of the runway at
East Midlands Airport, Leicestershire during a radar approach in bad weather. The nose gear collapsed and the fuselage broke just ahead of the wings. The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair but all 53 people on board survived.[120]
20 March –
British Midland AirwaysVickers Viscount G-AVJA crashed on take-off from
Ringway Airport, Manchester, Lancashire. The aircraft was operating a training flight. During a simulated engine failure control was lost and the aircraft rolled inverted and dived into the ground. Three of the four crew were killed.[121]
22 January –
British MidlandVickers Viscount G-AWXI was written off after an engine fire on departure from
London Heathrow Airport, it returned and made an emergency landing. Some passengers were injured, one seriously during the emergency evacuation.[123]
3 June –
MoormanairDouglas DC-3 PH-MOA had an engine problem on departure from
London Southend Airport. The aircraft made an emergency landing but overran and hit an earth bank. The aircraft was substantially damaged, but only two of the 36 on board were injured.[124]
18 April – Court Line Flight 95, operated by
BAC One-Eleven G-AXMJ was involved in a ground collision with
Piper PA-23 Aztec G-AYDE during take-off from
Luton Airport, Bedfordshire. The Aztec had entered the active runway without permission. The pilot of the Aztec was killed and his passenger was injured. The One-Eleven aborted its take-off and an emergency evacuation was performed with all 93 people on board escaping uninjured. The Aztec was written off and the substantially damaged One-Eleven was repaired and returned to Service.
4 October –
Delta Air TransportDouglas DC-6 OO-VGB was taking off on
London Southend Airport runway 24 for a flight to
Antwerp International Airport in Belgium when the nose gear collapsed, causing damage and fire to one of the engines. The aircraft stopped before the flight could overrun the runway. All 105 passengers and crew were uninjured in the accident and the DC-6 was written off.[127]
17 July –
AlidairVickers Viscount G-ARBY, crash-landed at
Ottery St Mary, Devon after running out of fuel on a charter flight from
Santander, Spain to
Exeter. All 62 people on board escaped uninjured. The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair.[131]
1981
26 June – Dan-Air Flight 240, a mail flight operated by
Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Series 2A G-ASPL crashed at
Nailstone, Leicestershire following the loss of the rear cabin door, leading to control difficulties, overstressing the airframe and in-flight break up. All three crew were killed.
22 August –
British AirtoursFlight 28M operated by
Boeing 737-236 G-BGJL suffered an engine fire on take-off from
Manchester Airport. Take-off was aborted and an emergency evacuation was initiated. Fire spread to the passenger cabin, killing 53 and seriously injuring 15 of the 131 people on board.
10 March –
Pan AmFlight 125 operated by
Boeing 747-100 N740PA on an international cargo flight from
London Heathrow Airport to
John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, United States suffered a cargo door failure and pressurization problems and returned to Heathrow. No casualties were reported; however, the same issue that occurred aboard Pan Am Flight 125 is thought to have occurred two years later on
United Airlines Flight 811 with fatal consequences.
1988
21 December – Pan Am Flight 103, operated by
Boeing 747-100 N739PA en route from London Heathrow Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport was blown up just after crossing the England-Scotland border. The terrorist attack was conducted by Libyan
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. All 243 passengers and 16 crew members on board the aircraft were killed as well as 11 residents of
Lockerbie – the town on which a large percentage of the debris fell – which leaves a total of 270 deaths. As of 2023[update], this remains the deadliest terrorist attack in the United Kingdom.[125]
10 June –
British AirwaysFlight 5390, operated by
BAC One-Eleven G-BJRT on an international scheduled passenger flight from
Birmingham to
Málaga, Spain suffered an explosive decompression when a windscreen in the cockpit blew out in flight. An emergency landing was made at
Southampton Airport, Hampshire. Two of the 87 people on board were injured.
21 December –
Air AlgérieFlight 702P, operated by
Boeing 737-2D6C 7T-VEE crashed into a woodland in
Binley, Coventry, Following a Collison with an Electricity Tower on approach to
Coventry Airport, killing all five people on board, and injuring two who were struck by falling rubble as the landing gear of the plane clipped their houses.
1995
27 April –
Airtours International AirwaysMcDonnell Douglas MD-83 G-DEVR was substantially damaged when the port undercarriage collapsed whilst the aircraft was taxying after landing at
Manchester Airport. There were no injuries amongst the 178 people on board.[141] The aircraft was subsequently repaired and returned to service.[142]
5 November – a
Virgin AtlanticAirbus A340-311 G-VSKY suffered a partial undercarriage failure while being prepared for a landing at
London Heathrow Airport. After numerous attempts to free the jammed left main undercarriage, an emergency landing was made. The aircraft suffered substantial damage. Seven of the 114 people on board were slightly injured in the subsequent emergency evacuation.[145] The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.[146]
7 December –
Air UKFokker F-27 Mk 500 G-BNCY overran the runway on landing at
Guernsey Airport and was damaged beyond economic repair. There were no injuries amongst the 54 people on board.[147]
1998
31 March –
Emerald AirwaysHawker Siddeley HS 748 G-OJEM suffered an uncontained engine failure immediately after take-off from
London Stansted Airport, Essex. The aircraft was landed back on the runway but overran the end and the nose gear collapsed. All 44 people on board evacuated without injury. The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair.[148]
17 June –
CityFlyer ExpressFlight 8106, operated by a
BAe 146, was subjected to an attempted hijack on an international scheduled passenger flight from
Zürich, Switzerland to
London Gatwick Airport. The aircraft landed at Gatwick where the hijacker was arrested. There were no injuries amongst the 98 people on board.
2001
4 February –
Short 360-100 EI-BPD of
Aer Arann was damaged beyond economic repair in a landing accident at
Sheffield City Airport,
South Yorkshire when the pilot mishandled the propeller controls, resulting in a heavy landing and departure from the runway.[153]
10 May –
Spanair Flight 3203, operated by
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 EC-FXI, was substantially damaged when the starboard undercarriage collapsed on landing at
Liverpool Airport. All 51 people on board evacuated via the escape slides. The substantially damaged aircraft was repaired and returned to service.[155]
15 June –
TNT Airways Flight 325N was operated by
Boeing 737-301F OO-TND on a scheduled international cargo flight from
Liège, Belgium to
London Stansted Airport, Essex. On arrival at Stansted, the visibility was too poor to allow a landing. The aircraft diverted to
East Midlands Airport, Leicestershire where it landed heavily on the grassed area to the left of the runway. A go-around was initiated but the starboard undercarriage was ripped off when it touched down off the runway. A further diversion was made to
Birmingham Airport, West Midlands where a successful emergency landing was made. The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair but both crew escaped uninjured.[158]
18 August –
Swiss European Air Lines Flight 444, a scheduled international passenger flight from
Geneva, Switzerland to
London City, was operated by
Avro RJ100 HB-IYU. The aircraft was substantially damaged in a hard landing at London City Airport. All 93 people on board escaped uninjured. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.[161]
2008
17 January –
British AirwaysFlight 38 operated by
Boeing 777-236 G-YMMM, was a scheduled international passenger flight from
Beijing, China to
London Heathrow. It suffered a double engine failure on approach to Heathrow, landing short of the threshold. The aircraft was written off, the first for a Boeing 777. There were 47 injuries amongst the 152 people on board. The double engine failure was caused by ice in the fuel blocking the fuel-oil heat exchangers on both engines.
2009
13 February –
BA CityFlyer Flight 8456 was a scheduled international passenger flight from
Amsterdam to
London City Airport. It was operated by
Avro RJ100 G-BXAR. On landing at London City, the nose gear collapsed. All 72 people on board evacuated by the emergency escape slides. The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair.[162]
For the purpose of this article, airports involved in airliner accidents and incidents are listed by the title they went by when the incident occurred.
As the article heading states, only accidents and incidents on United Kingdom soil or within British airspace are listed; flights associated with UK airports are not included (i.e. accidents and incidents on aircraft that have left the UK's airports or were bound for them).
Links in italics are links to an article on the accident or incident.
Accidents and incidents highlighted in bold resulted in 50+ fatalities.
For the purposes of this article, the term 'United Kingdom' shall include the
Channel Islands and the
Isle of Man. It shall also include the Republic of Ireland for any accident occurring before 1923, when the 26 counties formed part of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.