The 1947 Croydon Dakota accident occurred on 25 January 1947 when a Spencer Airways Douglas C-47A Skytrain (Dakota) [Note 2] failed to get airborne from Croydon Airport near London, and crashed into a parked and empty ČSA Douglas C-47 destroying both aircraft and killing 11 passengers and one crew member.
[1][2][3] The Ministry of Civil Aviation, named the dead as: Sisters Rousselot, Lester and Martin, of La Sagesse Convent, London, N.W.
; Mr. and Mrs. Cond and their two children; Miss Cecilia Beckett, Mr. Mervyn Frazer, Mrs. Warren, of Dublin, Mr. Schauder and Captain E. Spencer.
[1] The pilot was seen to apply full starboard aileron but the bank angle increased to 40 degrees with the port wing tip only a few feet from the ground.
[8] In the morning the starboard engine had a lack of pressure but the co-pilot and the radio operator said before the flight that it was OK.[8] Another witness gave evidence that the wings were covered in snow and he had not seen any attempt to defrost the aircraft.
[8] A statement given by an inspector of police from Northern Rhodesia attested to the fact that Spencer did not smoke or drink and had many hours flying experience since the early 1930s.