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1927 KLM Fokker F.VIII crash

22 Aug 1927 · Underriver, Kent

Fokker F.VIII · Structural failure of tailfin

From Croydon Airport to Waalhaven Airport, Rotterdam

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Event

Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
Event fatalities
1 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
Unknown
Survivors
10
InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
8
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
Airline

Fokker F.VIII

Aircraft type
Fokker F
Category
Airplane · from aircraft type
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
H-NADU
Operator
KLM
Onboard fatalities
1
Route
From Croydon AirportTo Waalhaven Airport, Rotterdam

Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.

From the Wikipedia article

The 1927 KLM Fokker F.VIII crash happened on 22 August 1927 when Fokker F.VIII H-NADU of KLM crashed at Underriver, Kent, following structural failure of the tailfin or rudder. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled flight from Croydon, Surrey, to Waalhaven Airport, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. One of the two crew was killed and eight people were injured.

Accident

On 22 August 1927, H-NADU departed Croydon at 8:07 am, bound for Rotterdam. It was carrying two crew, nine passengers, 13 kg of mail and 144 kg of freight. About 10 minutes after take-off, a tensioning wire at the tail broke, tearing off the rudder and tailfin. This made the aircraft very difficult to control, with a crash inevitable. The aircraft crashed into the crowns of some trees in the grounds of a large house named St Julian's at Underriver. The mechanic was killed when he was crushed by one of the engines. The pilot and seven passengers were injured. The tailfin and rudder were recovered at a distance of over 1 km from the wreckage of the aircraft. Damage to the aircraft was assessed at ƒ68,985.07.

Text from the Wikipedia article “1927 KLM Fokker F.VIII crash” (revision 1363254778, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article

Sources

Wikipedia article: 1927 KLM Fokker F.VIII crash
Article
1927 KLM Fokker F.VIII crash
Revision
1363254778 · 2026-07-09 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q4562069
Licence
Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
Record
Wikipedia article "1927 KLM Fokker F.VIII crash" (page 30630616, revision 1363254778)
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site; country from Wikidata (P17)
Map position
Wikipedia article coordinates
Aircraft, operator and route
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
Operation
operator is an airline according to Wikidata
Fatalities
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
Ground fatalities
not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
Summary
Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
  • Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.