Remembering the 1949 mid-air collision over Ash Green in Coventry that claimed fourteen lives.
Witnesses that day heard a loud explosion and saw a burning plane falling. Debris landed around 10 AM, with wreckage falling in a field near Royal Oak Lane.Some debris hit homes in Ash Green.
Many people tried to help after the planes crashed. Photos show firefighters and police at the scene, alongside nurses and residents. Sadly, all fourteen people on both planes died.
An RAF Anson was on a training flight with four crew members. A Dakota flew from Northolt to Glasgow, carrying six passengers and four crew. Rescuers first found eight bodies in a field, and later, they found six more bodies nearby.
The Coventry Telegraph reported the event, noting that firefighters put out flames from petrol tanks. A chimney on Ash Green Lane was also hit. Police and nurses came from Exhall Lodge Hospital, and locals gave blankets and sheets to help.
Mr. M Massey saw the crash, and he told The Telegraph about it. He saw a plane on fire above the hospital, noting a wing fell off before the plane crashed. He warned the police and hospital staff.
Alan Teening saw the crash near his home, reporting that he saw flames and a plane falling. The main part of the plane landed nearby, and he also saw pieces of men’s suits.
His mother heard a loud explosion, looked up, and saw smoke before then seeing a plane falling. The aircraft broke into many pieces, with the main section falling like a seed.
Officials from The Air Ministry and Civil Aviation confirmed the crash. The information shared stated than an RAF Anson and a Dakota collided near Coventry.
Everyone on both planes died in the crash, and families of the victims were told. This crash was the worst local air disaster since 1948, and it was Britain’s worst civil air crash since then too.