24th August 1934
Plane is washed into the sea during Jersey take-off
Before the current airport was built, planes serving Jersey landed and took off from the beaches. Thus, seven passengers on a Jersey Airways plane heading for Heston Aerodrome in London were saved by bathers when the aircraft was caught by the rising tide at West Park Beach.
When a particularly ferocious wave swept across one of the wings, it caused the engine to fail. Thus, with nothing to counterbalance it, the other engine swung the plane around, and powered it straight into the sea.
Fortunately, nobody was hurt on this occasion, but several passengers had to be carried ashore. A second aviation incident the very next day had a rather more serious outcome.
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Other events that occured in August
Painter John Everett Millais dies
- Although born in Southampton, John Everett Millais was of Jersey stock, and he spent much of his childhood in the island.
- Read more…
Explorer Major General Edward Thompson Dickson dies
- St Helier-born Edward Dickson saw much of the world at a time when travel was a far more arduous process than it is today.
- Read more…
Jersey’s military government is dissolved
- The Channel Islands’ political recovery from the Occupation of the Second World War was swift, even if the physical scars remain.
- Read more…
A labourer is killed by lightning
- A labourer working in Jersey was struck by a bolt of lightning reported to have practically drilled through his head.
- Read more…
