1945-10-31

Crash site Hyvinkää airport, Finland
Airline Aero O/Y
Aircraft Junkers Ju 52  –  OH-LAK  –  Sampo
Route Turku  –  Hyvinkää
Crew 3  –  3 survivors
Passengers 11  –  11 survivors

 

The crash

The pilot of the plane carried out a radio controlled approach to Hyvinkää airport. It was dark and the weather was poor and radio signals were distorted by high-tension wires. During the second attempt to land the plane crashed into the woods north of the airport. The plane was burned to ashes, but miraculously the crew and all the passengers survived the crash.
Since the war the Helsinki/Malmi airport was closed for civilian traffic. Passengers and mail which arrived in Hyvinkäa was transported to Helsinki by train.

This plane was also involved in a crash on 7 November 1941 (see here).

 

The mail

The recovered mail was brought back to the Post Office in Turku where it was sorted out. Mail which could be forward had a small label attached.
Most of the mail probably burned up in the wreck as very few items have been recorded. I have seen 6 items from this crash (4 from Finland, 1 from Sweden and 1 from the Netherlands).

 

 

A.
Finnish label.
Black on white paper.
Size: ?
Text translation:
Damaged in “Sampo” plane crash Hyvinkäällä 31.10.

 

 

B.
Finnish label.
Black on white paper.
Size: ?
Text translation:
Damaged in “Sampo” plane crash 31.10.45

 

 

C.
Same as type B except for
typing error, which was corrected.

 

 

 

Examples of mail

19451031 001a  

Registered cover postmarked TURKU 31.X.45 addressed to Helsinki with label type A.
 

Registered cover from Turku postmarked TURKU / ÅBO 31.X.45 to Helsinki with Finnish crash label type A.
Koskiaho Collection.
19451031 005a 19451031 005c

Another registered cover from Turku/Åbo to Helsinki which was forwarded to the recipient in a service cover type N:o 663. The red handstamp KIRJATAAN mean Registered.
Ala-Honkola Collection.

Postal stationery card from Turku with machine cancellation TURKU/ÅBO 31 X45 to Selänpää. The card was forwarded with crash label type B which was tied with a postmark TURKU/ÅBO -2. XI. 45.
Haavisto Collection.

Cover from Sweden postmarked  PKP 28.10.45. This was a Travelling Post Office operating on the railway line Malmö – Eslöv – Kristianstad. The cover is addressed to Lahti, Finland where it arrived on 2- XI 45 (arrival postmark on the back).
There is no Finnish crash label, but on the back are two handwritten notes:
Vahingoittunut lento-onnettomuudessa V.A.  =  Damaged in the air crash  V. A.(Kuori palanut “Sampo” koneessa 31.10. Hyvinkäällä)  =  (Cover burned on to “Sampo” plane 31.10.1945).
It is not known if these notes were written by a postal employee, the recipient or perhaps a philatelist.
Ala-Honkola Collection.
19451031 002a  19451031 002b 

Cover from the Netherlands to Vuocksenniska, Finland with label type C.
Ala-Honkola Collection.