R.101 departed from Cardington on the evening of 4 October 1930 for its intended destination of Karachi (then part of British India), via a refuelling stop at Ismaïlia in Egypt, under the command of Flight Lieutenant Carmichael Irwin.
Among the 12 passengers were Lord Thomson, Secretary of State for Air; Sir Sefton Brancker, Director of Civil Aviation; Squadron Leader William Palstra, RAAF Air Liaison Officer (ALO) to the British Air Ministry; Director of Airship Development Reginald Colmore; and both Lt.
Col.
V. C. Richmond and Michael Rope.

The weather forecast on the morning of 4 October was generally favourable, predicting south to south-westerly winds of between 20 and 30 m.p.h. (
32 and 48 km/h) at 2,000 ft (610 m) over northern France, with conditions improving over southern France and the Mediterranean Sea.
Although the mid-day forecast indicated some deterioration in the situation, this was not considered to be alarming enough to cancel the planned voyage.
A course was planned which would take R.101 over London, Paris and Toulouse, crossing the French coast near Narbonne.

Fine rain was beginning to fall when, at dusk, with all the crew and passengers aboard, the R.101 readied for departure.
Under the illuminating spotlights, the jettisoning of water ballast to bring the airship into trim was clearly visible.
 Squadron Leader Booth, the commander of R.100, was watching the departure from the tower's observation gallery and estimated that two tons had been discharged from the nose and a further ton from the midships tanks.
 R.101 cast off from the mast at 18:36 GMT to a cheer from the crowd which had gathered to witness the event, gently backed from the tower and, as another ton of ballast was jettisoned, the engines were opened up to about half power and the airship slowly began to climb away, initially heading northeast to fly over Bedford before making a 180° turn to port to pass north of Cardington.

At about 19:06 the duty engineer in the aft engine car reported an apparent oil pressure problem.
 At 19:16 he shut the engine down, and after a short discussion with the chief engineer it was decided to replace the oil gauge, there being nothing apparently wrong with the engine.
 This work was put in hand, and the engine was restarted at 22:56, by which time R.101 was over the English Channel.
With one engine stopped, airspeed was reduced by around 4 mph (6 km/h) to 58.7 mph (94.5 km/h)
At 19:19, having flown 29 mi (47 km) but still only 8 mi (13 km) from Cardington, a course was set for London.
 At 20:01, R.101, by now over Potters Bar, made its second report to Cardington, confirming the intention to proceed via London, Paris and Narbonne, but making no mention of the engine problem.
 By that point, the weather had deteriorated, and it was raining heavily.
Flying around 800 ft (240 m) above the ground, it passed over Alexandra Palace before changing course slightly at the landmark clock tower of the Metropolitan Cattle Market north of Islington, and thence over Shoreditch to cross the Thames in the vicinity of the Isle of Dogs, passing over the Royal Naval College at Greenwich at 20:28.
The airship’s progress, flying with its nose pointing some 30 degrees to the right of its track, was observed by many who braved the rain to watch it pass overhead.

An update of the meteorological situation was received at 20:40.
 The forecast had deteriorated severely, south-westerly winds of up to 50 mph (80 km/h) with low cloud and rain being predicted for northern France, and similar conditions over central France.
That this caused concern on board is demonstrated by the request for more detailed information, which was transmitted at 21:19, by which time R.101 was near Hawkhurst in Kent.
 It is possible that an alternative course was being considered.
At 21:35 R.101 crossed the English coast near Hastings and at 21:40 transmitted a progress report back to Cardington, mentioning that recovery of rainwater into the ballast tanks was taking place but again not reporting the engine problem.
At 22:56 the aft engine was restarted.
B
R.101 departed from Cardington on the evening of 4 October 1930 for its intended destination of Karachi (then part of British India), via a refuelling stop at Ismaïlia in Egypt, under the command of Flight Lieutenant Carmichael Irwin. Among the 12 passengers were Lord Thomson, Secretary of State for Air; Sir Sefton Brancker, Director of Civil Aviation; Squadron Leader William Palstra, RAAF Air Liaison Officer (ALO) to the British Air Ministry; Director of Airship Development Reginald Colmore; and both Lt. Col. V. C. Richmond and Michael Rope.
The weather forecast on the morning of 4 October was generally favourable, predicting south to south-westerly winds of between 20 and 30 m.p.h. (32 and 48 km/h) at 2,000 ft (610 m) over northern France, with conditions improving over southern France and the Mediterranean Sea. Although the mid-day forecast indicated some deterioration in the situation, this was not considered to be alarming enough to cancel the planned voyage. A course was planned which would take R.101 over London, Paris and Toulouse, crossing the French coast near Narbonne.
Fine rain was beginning to fall when, at dusk, with all the crew and passengers aboard, the R.101 readied for departure. Under the illuminating spotlights, the jettisoning of water ballast to bring the airship into trim was clearly visible.  Squadron Leader Booth, the commander of R.100, was watching the departure from the tower's observation gallery and estimated that two tons had been discharged from the nose and a further ton from the midships tanks.  R.101 cast off from the mast at 18:36 GMT to a cheer from the crowd which had gathered to witness the event, gently backed from the tower and, as another ton of ballast was jettisoned, the engines were opened up to about half power and the airship slowly began to climb away, initially heading northeast to fly over Bedford before making a 180° turn to port to pass north of Cardington.
At about 19:06 the duty engineer in the aft engine car reported an apparent oil pressure problem.  At 19:16 he shut the engine down, and after a short discussion with the chief engineer it was decided to replace the oil gauge, there being nothing apparently wrong with the engine.  This work was put in hand, and the engine was restarted at 22:56, by which time R.101 was over the English Channel. With one engine stopped, airspeed was reduced by around 4 mph (6 km/h) to 58.7 mph (94.5 km/h)
At 19:19, having flown 29 mi (47 km) but still only 8 mi (13 km) from Cardington, a course was set for London.  At 20:01, R.101, by now over Potters Bar, made its second report to Cardington, confirming the intention to proceed via London, Paris and Narbonne, but making no mention of the engine problem.  By that point, the weather had deteriorated, and it was raining heavily. Flying around 800 ft (240 m) above the ground, it passed over Alexandra Palace before changing course slightly at the landmark clock tower of the Metropolitan Cattle Market north of Islington, and thence over Shoreditch to cross the Thames in the vicinity of the Isle of Dogs, passing over the Royal Naval College at Greenwich at 20:28. The airship’s progress, flying with its nose pointing some 30 degrees to the right of its track, was observed by many who braved the rain to watch it pass overhead.
An update of the meteorological situation was received at 20:40.  The forecast had deteriorated severely, south-westerly winds of up to 50 mph (80 km/h) with low cloud and rain being predicted for northern France, and similar conditions over central France. That this caused concern on board is demonstrated by the request for more detailed information, which was transmitted at 21:19, by which time R.101 was near Hawkhurst in Kent.  It is possible that an alternative course was being considered. At 21:35 R.101 crossed the English coast near Hastings and at 21:40 transmitted a progress report back to Cardington, mentioning that recovery of rainwater into the ballast tanks was taking place but again not reporting the engine problem. At 22:56 the aft engine was restarted. B
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