Date:	Tuesday 26 April 1955
Time:	00:15
Type:	Vickers Varsity T.1
Owner/operator:	Royal Air Force - RAF
Registration:	WF426
MSN:	569
Year of manufacture:	1952
Engine model:	Bristol Hercules 264
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	4
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	Onnaing -   France
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Illegal Flight
Departure airport:	Thorney Island RAF Station
Destination airport:	-

Narrative:
On April 25, 1955 about 19:00 local time, the Varsity plane was taken on an unauthorised flight by a mechanic from Thorney Island RAF Station. The airplane flew towards the London area, circling the city. All the time the airplane was being chased by another Vickers Varsity from Thorney Island. After three hours the chase plane lost sight of the stolen plane. The mechanic continued flying low over southern England and then across The Channel to France. Shortly after midnight the airplane crashed into a farmhouse at Onnaing, near Valenciennes in northern France. Four occupants of the house were killed, along with the pilot.

Broken Wings : Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents / James J. Halley

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