1948 disappearance of a Beechcraft Model 18 near Dieppe

The disappearance of a Beechcraft Model 18 near Dieppe in 1948 occurred on 8 November 1948. On that day a Beechcraft Model 18/C18S of Escadrille Mercure Taxis Aériens, which was to operate a charter flight from Paris to London, was lost over the English Channel. All eight occupants on board the aircraft were killed in the accident.

Accident sequence

Because of an Air France strike that day, all flights from Paris to London had been cancelled. As a result, the Czechoslovak national ice hockey team was stranded in Paris. Since the players were to travel to Great Britain for World Championship warm-up matches, it was decided to charter an air taxi from the airline Escadrille Mercure Taxis Aériens for the flight across to London. Since adverse weather conditions prevailed that day, the airline's founder, René de Narbonne, at first refused to carry out the flight, but was eventually persuaded after all. The aircraft took off at 16:38 on the flight to London-Croydon. One hour after the start of the flight the aircraft was crossing the English Channel in fog when the captain flew a turn with the aircraft, possibly in order to turn back to Paris or Cherbourg because of the bad weather. In doing so, control of the aircraft was lost, and it crashed into the sea near Dieppe at around 17:39. All eight occupants of the aircraft died. After the accident a search and recovery operation was launched, but it was called off after a few days without the aircraft or its occupants being found. About a year after the accident, human remains washed up on the beach near Dieppe. The examination suggested that these were the remains of the captain.