Dakota crash, Ruislip 1946

Thanks for the extra info David. I did wonder if whoever lived there now knew the history.

I appreciate that this is an old thread but I have just come across it and thought you might be amused by a bit of additional information.

The crash happened 2 days before my parents got married. They were renting the house and had already moved all of their furniture and wedding presents in.

I’ve got several newspaper cuttings from the day after, including one of my late Dad standing on the pavement just looking up at the wreck on his roof. Those newspaper cuttings, together with several other photographs, show that not a single window was broken during the crash. The same could not be said of when they dragged the plane off.

I bought the house in 1972 and am still living there.

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Express Dairies Anson – VV298, 1st June 1960. Destination was Marham but suffered engine failure immediately after take off.

Delayed reply

Do you remember the surgeons name by any chance? Was it J S Tough?

Sorry to take so long to get back to you. Regret to say that Hugh Murdoch’s skin surgeon was not JS Tough. Hugh reckoned that it was a “Kiwi” Archie McIndoe.

My late father Ian Crosbie was the co-pilot of this aircraft, and like the RO Hugh Murdoch he was also very bitter about the pilot.
Hugh Murdoch had survived an earlier crash and consequently had got into the habit of standing between the pilots at take-off and landing. It was fortunate that he did on this occasion as some metalwork was pushed through the ROs seat and would probably have killed him had he been sitting there.
The above conjectural diagram of the flight is incorrect. The aircraft ‘flew’ straight down Angus Drive from the end of the runway until the port wing clipped some rooftops and the plane slewed through 90 degrees and came to rest on the roof of No 46.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hometruths/dakotaonroof.shtml

Boo Hisss.

I always under the impression that blame was with the residents of the house as they had left the the landing light on???

I’ve tried to draw the possible flightpath of AGZA
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Martin

Do you remember the surgeons name by any chance? Was it J S Tough?

RUISLIP CRASH 1946

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Hi. I joined BEA @ Renfrew Airport in 1955 and was working in their Ships Papers office along with 4 or 5 others one of whom told me the story of the Dak that slapped into the house roof at the end of the “London” runway. He held the pilot to blame for the incident was remained very bitter about him until he died some years ago now. His name was Hugh Murdoch and he claimed to have been the Radio Officer on board that flight. Hugh was invalided out of RAF after burns and loss of two fingers on one hand in a prang. He underwent prolonged treatment for his burns in an Ayrshire hospital under a skin specialist who became famous for his work on military burn cases. I’m sure that he took delight in the shocked faces – like mine was-when he shook hands.

My very first aviation exposure, just post WWII, was to sit at my bedroom window and watch the traffic into Northolt, about a quarter mile off the runway centre line. Aircraft lined up on the distant gasometer at South Harrow on my right and flew down Eastcote Lane to drop out of view toward Ruislip on my left

It seemed to be an endless procession of Vikings, DC-3s, Dragon Rapides and Ansons but I am sure there was stuff I just did not recognise.

When Northolt returned to being solely RAF I seem to recall that an Anson had a similar experience to the DC-3, making a landing on top of the Express Dairy depot but not sustaining too much damage – c1960.

Anybody have an image?

Mark

Dakotas Rest

I read about this some years back in one of the UK’s other aircraft magazines, it was most certainly Northolt, not Heathrow. What was interesting is that the crew and passengers all descended into the loft, down the loft ladder onto the landing, then down stairs and out by the front door, none the worse for their
experience so it seems!

It was a Railway Air Services DC-3 G-AGZA on a scheduled flight Northolt to Glasgow.Their was four crew and one passenger on board . A full story with photos was published in “Propliner”magazine for Apr-Jun 1981.
The Captain had de-iced, and whilst held before departing the drop in temperature and falling snow froze on the wings. The resultant crash landing on the houses earned the Captain the nickname “Rooftops”Johnson.

It was Northolt

Crew of 4 and 1 Passenger and happened at 11 am

Pilot was Capt W.J. Johnson, and Passenger Mr J. Livingstone – Sorry no infor on rest of crew

I don’t even think Heath Row (as it was then) had opened to commercial traffic in 1946 (it was 1947)

Thanks Bruce/Fouga/Ian

Couldn’t find it when I googled before but seems putting the reg in pulls up all sorts.

The strange thing is it states the plane had just left Heathrow, is that correct? The location is in a direct straight line continuation of Northolt’s runway and from the decription it sounds like it barely left the ground before the accident. Not travelled 6 miles from heathrow.

Amazing to think everyone worked away unhurt.

Peter

There was a letter to the Editor’ in the Telegraph a few weeks ago from someone looking for more info, it included a photo from the ‘rear end’…

great read:
http://www.dc3history.org/stories_dc_3.htm

A very quick google reveals the following:

Couldn’t gain height after takeoff. The aircraft landed on top of a house at 46 Agnus Drive in the London suburb of Ruislip.

PROBABLE CAUSE: “The pilot taking off when the aircraft was almost entirely covered with snow. In doing this the pilot committed an error of judgement.”