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| Image of crash on 9 September 1936 |
A prescient post from U3A project member Peter Day explores the potential dangers of living near to Croydon Airport:
The positioning of airports was as
controversial in the 1930s as it is today. Low flying, night flying,
noisy engines - and crashes, all contributed to a degree of ill-will
from local residents. In the case of Croydon this came to a head on
the morning of December 9th 1936. On that foggy morning a KLM DC2
crashed into houses near the airport shortly after take-off resulting
in the deaths of 15 passengers and crew. This was the worst air
accident there had been in the UK in terms of the number killed and a
storm of protest blew up with questions in Parliament, local protest
meeting and petitions to the Air Ministry.
