Date:	Sunday 9 April 1961
Time:	17:39 LT
Type:	de Havilland DH.82a Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Limburgse Vleugels vzw
Registration:	OO-EVL
MSN:	86502
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Opglabbeek, near Genk-Zwartberg Airfield, Limburg -   Belgium
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Banner and glider towing
Departure airport:	Genk-Zwartberg Airfield (GNK/EBZW)
Destination airport:	Genk-Zwartberg Airfield (GNK/EBZW)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.82a Tiger Moth MSN 86502; Taken on charge by the RAF as NM194, notionally at 15 MU RAF Wroughton, Wiltshire 24.2.44. However, placed into long term storage in ‘purgatory’ in the Oxfordshire area; returned to Morris Motors, Cowley, Oxford, for erection 16.8.45. To 38 MU RAF Llandow, Glamorgan 30.9.45. To Belgian Training School, RAF Snailwell 7.3.46. Delivered to Schaffen/Diest later in 1946. Struck off charge when sold to the Belgian Govt [in 1946] and to Belgian Air Force as ETA-18 5.47; became T-18 in 6.47. To DEPE, Wevelgem, Belgium [by 4.53]. Damaged in crash 30.4.53 (presumed at Wevelgem, Belgium). Fitted with Gipsy Major #90495 during repairs. To Arsenal/Evere 20.6.53 for for overhaul/repairs.

Transferred 14.5.57 by Administration des Domaines [Ministry of Finance] to Centre Nationale de Vol a Voile (CNVV), Bruxelles. Belgian civil registered as OO-EVL (CofR 1216) 6.10.58 to Centre Ecole National de Vol a Voile asbl (CNVV), St Hubert. Loaned & re-registered (by 4.61) to Limburgse Vleugels vzw, Zwartberg/Genk.

Written off (destroyed) 9.4.61 when Tiger Moth OO-EVL and a Schleicher Ka-4 Rhönlerche II glider (OO-ZUZ) both crashed following a mid-air collision at Opglabbeek, near Genk-Zwartberg Airfield, 4 miles NNE of Genk, Limburg, Belgium. One source states "on the heath between Zwartberg and Opglabbeek" (see links #6 & #7). The glider had just disconnected from the towing cable when it collided with the aerotow plane. Both aircraft crashed, killing the pilots. According to a rough translation into English of a report into the accident (see link #5 for the original Belgian text):

"On April 9, 1961, there was an in-flight collision between two aircraft that killed the two pilots. Tiger Moth OO-EVL towed Rhönlerche OO-ZUZ and when they had gained enough height, the pilot of the Rhönlerche unhooked. Shortly afterwards, the two planes collided and crashed near Zwartberg airport. Received the following information from Jan Lantmeeters:

A gloomy day for the 'Limburg Wings'.
Two planes from Gemeentelijk Vliegplein Genk crashed into heath in Opglabbeek. The two badly mutilated pilots perished in their wrecked aircraft.

Sunday evening, at 5:39 p.m. exactly, above the heath at Opglabbeek a biplane and a glider from the Gemeentelijk Vliegplein Genk flew into each other with a hard blow and crashed down. The two pilots on board lost their lives in the wrecked aircraft, badly maimed.

It can be called a tragic peculiarity that this disaster – the most serious in the history of the airfield at Zwartberg – happened, barely a few days after Governor Roppe, during the dedication of the aircraft of this base on Easter Monday last. wished health.

Accident at a height of 500 meters
The investigation will have to show exactly how the accident happened; At the time of the disaster there were indeed a few people on the terrace of the airfield, looking after the wife of one of the pilots who had died in the accident, but it all happened so lightning fast that the event had already taken place before the witnesses could realize it .

Taking advantage of the clear flying weather yesterday afternoon, there was quite a lot of crowds on the Municipal Vliegplein Genk, which is currently experiencing a flourishing period under the impulse of the municipal council of Genk and the members of the association 'Limburgse Vleugels'.

The Tigermoth OO-EVL, a biplane piloted by 43-year-old Raymond Lantin, chief engineer of the municipal technical service in Genk, took off from the runway at around 5.30 am, married and father of two children, an experienced pilot with many flying hours. on its active; the aircraft was carrying a glider on a cable, the Rönlecher OO-ZUZ, which was piloted by 17-year-old Xavier Delwaide, living on Weg naar Beverst in Bilzen. The take-off was normal and, as usual, both aircraft flew against the wind, in the direction of the Zwartberg coal mine dump.

About 500 meters above the landfill site, it must have happened: after the glider had separated from the biplane, one of the two planes made a fatal turn, so that they flew into each other and crashed down.

Both aircraft wrecked.
With broken wings, the two aircraft whirled down, while fragments of the fuselage were lost along the way. The glider ended up along the Zwartberg-Opglabbeek runway, almost at the level of the coal mine dump, and there was no rescue for the young, badly mutilated pilot, who was wedged between the wreckage pieces. The Tiger Moth made another turn in the sky, but plunged a little further into the moor with its snout in the ground, tipped over and instantly caught fire. The pilot of this aircraft also died instantly. In the meantime, the fire had spread over a large part of the bare heathland and the Genker fire brigade, who arrived on site in a very short time, got its job to describe the fire. The Dantesk scene ended with some twisted iron on the blackened moor.

A serious setback for aviation
The bang of the collision had startled many people and the Zwartberg-Opglabbeek road was soon overrun by onlookers. Fortunately, the Genker police was quickly on the spot and the gendarmerie, led by Kdt-Torfs and Adj, also appeared. flamey. Mayor Bijnens van Genk, as well as his head of cabinet Mr. Theunissen and numerous government officials appeared at the scene of the disaster, while the public prosecutor's office in Tongeren was still expected on Sunday evening.

It is perhaps not necessary to say that this disaster, of which insiders can hardly understand how it happened, is a serious setback for the association 'Limburgse Vleugels', which went through pioneering years in our province but had now made a definitive breakthrough and was experiencing a flourishing period. In addition to the material damage, estimated at Fr 300,000, there is above all the loss of two human lives and undoubtedly also the moral breakdown for the association".

Registration OO-EVL cancelled 13.4.61 as "destroyed"

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft NA100-NZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
2. Belgian Civil Aircraft since 1920 / J.Appleton and A. Thys, 1980 (ISBN 0 904597 25 3)
3. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p865.html
5. https://www.hangarflying.eu/erfgoedsites/graf-van-raymond-lantin-tiger-moth-oo-evl/
6. https://www-baeten--as-be.translate.goog/historiekgroot.html?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
7. Newpaper cutting on the incident: https://www-baeten--as-be.translate.goog/images/grote%20club/1961-04-10%20vliegtuigcrash%20in%20Opglabbeek.jpg?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_sch=http
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwartberg_Airfield
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opglabbeek

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-Apr-2008 07:00	ASN archive	Added
26-Nov-2020 16:59	harro	Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
13-Dec-2021 23:09	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]
13-Dec-2021 23:10	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator]
13-Dec-2021 23:14	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
08-Nov-2022 12:51	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]