Handley Page H.P.81 Hermes crash, May 26, 1952 (1 killed)
Handley Page H.P.81 Hermes accident on May 26, 1952 near Atar Adrar, Mauritania with 1 fatality. Cause: Faulty setting of the Gyrosyn compass variation...
- Date: May 26, 1952
- Aircraft: Handley Page H.P.81 Hermes
- Location: Atar Adrar, Mauritania
- Fatalities: 1
- Phase of flight: En route
- Cause: Faulty setting of the Gyrosyn compass variation control and inability to fix position, leading to a wheels-up landing with almost no fuel
A BOAC Handley Page Hermes on a scheduled service from Tripoli to Kano flew off course for several hours and ran out of fuel. It force landed in the Sahara south of Atar, Mauritania, on 26 May 1952. First Officer Ted Haslam died later from a head injury.