The Sutton Wick air crash occurred on 5 March 1957 when a Blackburn Beverley C Mk 1 heavy transport aircraft, serial number XH117, of 53 Squadron Royal Air Force crashed at Sutton Wick, Drayton, Berkshire,[notes 1] England, following a shut-down of one engine and partial loss of power on another.

[1] The technician found responsible for incorrectly fitting the valve was charged under the Air Force Act.

[3] Two RAF officers who took part in the rescue after the crash were highly praised for "refusing to give up while there was hope of finding survivors among the wreckage.

[2] As the Beverley turned on to final approach for RAF Abingdon the crew attempted to increase power from the remaining three Bristol Centaurus engines but No.

However, the aircraft became uncontrollable and struck a number of high tension cables and a group of elm trees that tore the port wing from the fuselage.

[2] On impact with the ground, the aircraft destroyed a caravan and a prefabricated house before somersaulting and crashing upside down.

[7] John Dawson was in the garden of the Red Lion at Drayton and described what he witnessed: The plane came towards me flying low when one wing hit a tree.

[8]The aircraft crashed at 11:00 am,[1] 18 minutes after take-off,[2] near Sutton Wick, 2 miles (3 km) south of Abingdon.

[8] The tail section of the aircraft crashed on a farmhouse near the main wreckage, trapping and seriously injuring Margaret Stanton in the kitchen of the house.

[4] A newspaper reported: "Wreckage was scattered over three-quarters of a mile and the force of the explosion sent the main part of the fuselage and tailplane tearing back over the field into the farmyard, carrying with it an inferno fuel and debris.

"[9] Emergency workers worked for several hours to free survivors and bodies from the charred fuselage[9] Two civilians on the ground,[7] three crew, 15 passengers[1] and a number of RAF Police dogs[4] were killed in the initial impact and ensuing fire.

[10] Accounts agree that rescuers put the survivor in a horse trough to extinguish the flames and cool his burns.

They were RAF men Leonard Andrews, Victor Hurring and Henry Ludlow from the aircraft, and civilian Margaret Stanton who had been trapped in her house.

The Oxford City Police force deployed eight officers to clear traffic to help ambulances to reach the Infirmary.

[4] An RAF document states: "At one stage a Calor gas cylinder bottle exploded near these officers and the fire thereupon began to gain ground.

From the available evidence, including inspections of part of the aircraft's fuel system, it is clear that a non-return valve between No.

[2] The tradesman who had fitted the valve, and his supervisor, were prosecuted and charged,[2] and the technician was court-martialled for negligence and punished with a reprimand.

In response to the disaster at Sutton Wick, the non-return valve was redesigned to make such an error impossible.

[3] Aviation author Graham Perry wrote that, after the crash, "airworthiness design standards were changed so that the threads at either end of all such valves manufactured since are now made totally different from each other.

"[3] Nevertheless, Perry wrote, "[one] would be amazed how many people have still tried to do so in the forty-seven years since, most realising their mistake after looking in the manual and quietly and ruefully thanking those who had gone before them and made it impossible.

[13] The RAF praised Harrison and Evans for "courage and resourcefulness of a high order, refusing to give up while there was hope of finding survivors among the wreckage.

[14] On 11 July 2015 a memorial was installed in the last surviving Beverley aircraft, which is at Fort Paull, East Yorkshire.

in 2020 the Fort Paull site and contents were auctioned off, including the sole remaining Beverley aircraft containing the Sutton Wick memorial plaque.

[15] On 7 March 2015 The Veterans Charity unveiled a temporary monument at the crash site on the Green in Sutton Wick Lane.

[15] Wreaths were laid on behalf of The Veterans Charity and the 1st Iver Heath Scouts who had helped with the research as their leader is a former RAF Police dog handler.

After the event a local resident and former RAF member offered to create a more permanent memorial featuring the names of those lost and details of the incident.

On 5 March 2016 an oak plaque inscribed with the names of the dead was installed at Sutton Wick as a permanent monument.