Date:	Friday 27 February 1920
Time:	14:00 LT
Type:	Vickers Vimy Commercial
Owner/operator:	Vickers (Aviation) Ltd.
Registration:	G-EAAV
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Tabora -   Tanzania
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Tabora, Tanganikya
Destination airport:	Cape Town
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
The Vimy Commercial was a civilian version with a larger diameter fuselage (largely of spruce plywood), which was developed at and first flew from the Joyce Green airfield in Kent on 13.04.19.

Ex-K107 (in the early pre "G-E..." series of British civil registrations). First civil registered as G-EAAV (C of A No. 22) on 13.05.19 to Vickers Ltd. The prototype entered the 1920 race to Cape Town; it left Brooklands on 24.02.20

Written off 27.02.20 when crashed on take off from Tabora, Tanganyika (now Tanzania). This aircraft was used on an attempt on the Cairo to Cape Town record with a prize of £10,000 from the Daily Mail. Flown by Vickers pilots Capt S. Cockerell & Capt F.C.G. Broome.

G-EAAV crashed due to failure of the starboard engine at low altitude. the aircraft then stalled, crashed into acacia thorn bushes, and then impacted with an ant hill, wiping off the undercarriage.

The pilot’s diary read:
“Friday, February 27: Took off 06:50 hours. Rush of water from starboard engine, worst yet, compelled to land immediately. Returned 07:05 hours. Stopped water leak with red lead and asbestos string. Restarted 14:00 hours; just got off ground, starboard engine conked completely; only hope to switch off. Ran into bush, caught anthills with undercarriage, completely wiping off front wheel. Saved turning over. Machine badly damaged and strained . . . found water leaking into induction and exhaust pipes internally, also oily substance in petrol.” The pilot then finished, “Aerodromes at high altitude are rather small for large machines. All disgusted with rotten luck.”

1. Andrews, C.F. and Eric B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908, Second edition. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1.
2. Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972: Volume III. London: Putnam, revised second edition, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-818-6.
3. http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-EAAV.pdf
4. https://login.exacteditions.com/login.do?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Freader.exacteditions.com%2Fissues%2F5197%2Fpage%2F79
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-E.html

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
10-Jun-2008 23:42	JINX	Added
20-Dec-2013 22:35	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
30-Oct-2017 06:17	Sergey L.	Updated [Destination airport]