2 fatalities

Friendly fire incident involving twin-engine bomber in Spain (40-5)

Turégano, SpainFlight

On August 27, 1936, a De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide (registration 40-5) operated by Spanish Air Force - Aviación Nacional (1936-1939) was involved in an aviation accident near Turégano, Spain in flight. 2 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: Mistakenly shot down by friendly forces. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

Sourcesthe Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A)Primary reportUpdated 2026-08-04Data APIEditorial standards

A twin-engine aircraft was mistakenly shot down by friendly forces during a bombing mission over the Sierra de Madrid, resulting in the deaths of both crew members upon impact near Segovia.

What happened

The twin-engine airplane departed from Olmedo with the objective of conducting a bombing run over the Sierra de Madrid region. While airborne and executing this mission, the aircraft was inadvertently targeted by friendly forces. Specifically, pilots operating three Heinkel He.51 fighters, who were part of the same air force unit, mistakenly identified the bomber as an enemy target and engaged it.

The impact from the attack caused the aircraft to enter an uncontrolled descent. The plane subsequently crashed in the area of Turégano, located north of Segovia. There were no survivors in this incident; both crew members were killed in the crash.

Probable cause

Mistakenly shot down by friendly forces