His wife and his four employees all agreed that when returning from a visit to the toilet (situated at the rear of the aeroplane) during the flight – Alfred Loewenstein mistakenly opened the only door in the aeroplane – adjacent to the toilet – (whilst flying over the English Channel) – a misjudgement that caused him to fall 4000 feet to his death! The Pilot and Engineer were sat in the cockpit at the front the aeroplane and had no idea what was happening toward the back – certainly no alarm had gone off and there had been no sudden depressurisation of the interior! Incredibly, the British Pilot – Donald Drew – (once alerted to the situation) managed to immediately land the aeroplane on a nearby beach (under the direct control of the French military). After being released by the French military he then successfully navigated the aeroplane (and its occupants) to the airfield at Saint-Inglevert, Pas-de-Calais – also in France.
