The aircraft had taken off from Cricklewood Aerodrome. At an altitude of approximately 700 to 800ft, all four of the engines were heard to stop, sending it crashing to the ground and catching fire. Of the six people on board, a passenger in the tail gunner position was the only one to survive. The fire destroyed all evidence of the cause of the malfunction, and it was supposed that it was due to fuel starvation to all engines while climbing. It was the aircraft’s 13th flight.
There was only one survivor – Colonel Ogilvie who had been a passenger in the tail gunner position at the back of the plane.
The Handley Page V1500 bomber was a new plane, which had flown for the first time just 15 days before the crash. So we think the 6 'passengers' on board were probably scientists/engineers carrying out tests rather than foolhardy people hitching a cheap ride somewhere, but we could be wrong.
Interesting that Wikipedia does not include this crash on their list of "accidents and incidents" associated with Handley Page, nor on their page for the aircraft itself.
Some information from The Times Series.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
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