Little Baldon air crash
A Handley Page Hastings C1A, the same variant as TG577 which crashed | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 6 July 1965 |
| Summary | Mechanical fault due to metal fatigue |
| Site | Little Baldon, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom 51°40′38.64″N 1°10′51.71″W / 51.6774000°N 1.1810306°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Handley Page Hastings |
| Operator | Royal Air Force |
| Registration | TG577 |
| Flight origin | RAF Abingdon, England |
| Destination | RAF Benson, England |
| Passengers | 35 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 41 |
| Survivors | 0 |
The Little Baldon air crash occurred on 6 July 1965 when a Handley Page Hastings C1A transport aircraft operated by No. 36 Squadron Royal Air Force, registration TG577, crashed into a field in Little Baldon, near Chiselhampton, Oxfordshire, shortly after taking off from RAF Abingdon. The flight was captained by Flt Lt John Akin. All 41 people aboard, including six crew, perished in the crash, making it the third worst air crash in the United Kingdom at the time.
A subsequent inquest jury returned a verdict of accidental death. The inquest found that the accident was due to metal fatigue of two bolts in the elevator system.