Date:	Wednesday 9 May 1934
Time:	c. 12:20 LT
Type:	Wibault 282.T12
Owner/operator:	Air France
Registration:	F-AMHP
MSN:	8
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	English Channel, 12 miles SSE of Dungeness, Kent -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:	Paris-Le Bourget, Paris (LBG/PFPB)
Destination airport:	Croydon Airport, Croydon, Surrey (EGCR)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Wibault 282.T12 F-AMHP, while overflying The Channel from Paris (Le Bourget) to Croydon, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions and low visibility due to fog. He reduced his altitude and was later flying low over the sea when the three engine aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances approximately twelve miles south east of Dungeness, Kent. All six occupants were killed.

Crew:
Francois Cannet killed (pilot)
Joseph Ollier killed (wireless operator)
Myles Murphy killed (steward, British)
Comte de Neuville killed (passenger, French)
Pierre Guichard du Plessis, 24, killed (passenger, French)
Arthur Louis Fraissard killed (passenger, Swiss)

The aircraft was operating a scheduled international passenger flight from Le Bourget, Paris, France to Croydon, Surrey, United Kingdom. It was carrying three crew and three passengers. The aircraft had taken off from Le Bourget at 11:15 local time (10:15 GMT) and passed over Le Tréport, Seine-Maritime at 12:10. At 12:19, a radio fix obtained from Croydon established that the aircraft was 18 1⁄2 miles (29.8 km) west by south of Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais. There were no further messages received from the aircraft. The weather at the time included low clouds.

At 17:20 GMT, the Folkestone lifeboat was launched with instructions to search the sea at a position 12 miles (19 km) south east by south of Dungeness, where it was reported that wreckage had been observed. The Dover lifeboat also joined the search. No trace of the aircraft was found during the search, which was hampered by thick fog. The Folkestone lifeboat did not return to its station until after 22:00 GMT. The lack of an SOS call from the aircraft indicated that it had crashed into the sea whilst attempting to fly below the low cloudbase. On 18 May, a mailbag from the aircraft was washed up on the French coast. A Reuters report from Paris, dated 18th May, that said that the body of M. Fraissard had been found on the beach near Fort Mahon, about 28 miles south of Boulogne. The body showed signs of burns, some bones were fractured, and the right leg was missing. The "neatly-rolled leather kit" of the pilot was found on a beach at Le Crotoy.

According to a contemporary newspaper report into the incident (" Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald" - Saturday 12 May 1934)

"AIRLINER LOST IN THE CHANNEL.
Lifeboats' Fruitless Search.
DUNGENESS BOAT OUT FIVE HOURS.
A FRENCH airliner was lost in the Channel early on Wednesday afternoon whilst on her way to Croydon from Paris. The machine, one of a three-engined type belonging to Air France, was carrying three passengers in addition to her crew of three which included the pilot, M. Cannet, who was a very experienced airman.

ASKED FOR POSITION
The air liner reported that she was leaving the French coast for England a few minutes after noon on Wednesday. A short while after the pilot asked for his position by wireless, there being a considerable amount of fog in mid-Channel. Nothing more was heard from the machine after this, and when she was overdue at Croydon anxiety for her safety increased.

It was not until the afternoon, however, that a definite clue to the whereabouts of the missing aeroplane was obtained, and it was contained in a brief message wirelessed to Croydon by a searching machine that what appeared to be aircraft wreckage had been seen some 12 miles south east by east of Dungeness Point.

The coastguards then called out the Dungeness motor lifeboat, the Charles Cooper Henderson, which was launched at 5.20 p.m. with the Assistant Coxswain, Mr. J. Oiller, a brother of Mr. C. Oiller, the Coxswain, in charge. Mr. C. Oller was away fishing at the time.

DOVER LIFEBOAT LAUNCHED
A little later Dover's lifeboat, the Sir William Hilary, which is specially fitted for giving assistance to aircraft in distress, also left her station. Other vessels, including a French lifeboat from Boulogne and a French tug also hurried to the spot indicated in the message. The work of the searching vessels was made more difficult by fog which was very dense in places, the Dover lifeboat at one time reporting visibility at no more than 15 yards. It was not until several hours later that it was learned that the lifeboats were returning, having found no trace of the lost air liner

"WE HAVE FOUND NOTHING"
Shortly after 10 p.m. the Dungeness boat returned to her station at the Point. "We have found nothing," said Mr. J. Oiller. "We made a search over a very wide area and got very near to Boulogne at one time. We made contact with a French tug which was searching but they had been no more successful than us. The fog was very thick at times and hampered our work."

The Dover lifeboat arrived back just before midnight. She had made a very wide search, too, without result".

Registration F-AMHP finally cancelled August 1934 as "destroyed"

1. "Air Liner Lost". The Times (46750). London. 10 May 1934. col G, p. 14.
2. "Mishap to French Air Liner". The Times (46759). London. 21 May 1934. col F, p. 7
3. El Tiempo 10 May 1934, page 7
4. 'A la poursuite de l'indien', by Jean Guichard du Plessis, published in Paris, 1957
5. Denham, Terry (1996). World Directory of Airliner Crashes. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-554-5.
6. Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald - Saturday 12 May 1934
7. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1934.htm
8. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-wibault-282t12-channel-6-killed
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wibault_280#Accidents_and_incidents
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934_Air_France_Wibault_282T_crash
11. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_F-11.html
12. https://ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/f-aaaa.pdf
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_accidents_and_incidents
14. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=12416.0

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
22-Mar-2013 12:50	ryan	Updated [Phase, Nature, Source, Narrative]
04-Jan-2014 19:20	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
28-Jan-2014 10:50	TB	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
28-Jan-2014 10:55	TB	Updated [Registration]
24-May-2017 17:44	TB	Updated [Narrative]
23-May-2018 19:46	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative]
04-Apr-2019 18:22	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
22-Feb-2020 20:32	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
22-Feb-2020 20:38	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
22-Feb-2020 20:40	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
15-Nov-2022 20:27	Philippe Martin	Updated [Source]
15-Nov-2022 20:36	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]