Date:	Thursday 25 April 1985
Time:	16:30
Type:	Piper PA-32RT-300T Turbo Lance II
Owner/operator:	Mann Aviation Sales Ltd
Registration:	G-HUGH
MSN:	32R-7887197
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 4
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Ottershaw, near Woking, Surrey -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Jersey Airport (JER/EGJJ)
Destination airport:	Fairoaks Airport, Surrey (EGTF)
Investigating agency:	AIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
Ex-G-IFLY, first UK registered 10/1/1979; re-registered as G-HUGH on 11/2/1980. Written off (destroyed) 25/4/1985 when crashed and caught fire on impact in woods at Ottershaw, near Woking, Surrey, whilst on approach to Fairoaks Airport. Of the four persons on board (pilot and three passengers) two of the passengers were killed, and the pilot was seriously injured. According to the following extract from the official AAIB report into the accident:

"...the flight proceeded apparently without incident until about 16:15 hours, when the aircraft was positioned for an approach and landing on runway 06 at Fairoaks aerodrome. As the aircraft reached the downwind position, the pilot informed Fairoaks Flight Information Services radio operator that he was not getting the three green lights which would indicate that the undercarriage was down and locked. He advised Fairoaks ATC that he wished to fly past the tower at Fairoaks for a visual check that the undercarriage was down.

The aircraft flew past the tower, and the radio operator informed the pilot that the undercarriage was seen to be down. At the same time, the Fairoaks FIS radio operator alerted the aerodrome fire and rescue service crew. The pilot then reported to Fairoaks FIS that he wished to fly past the tower a second time and re-cycle (a full retraction and lowering cycle) the undercarriage for a further visual check.

This was undertaken, and the pilot was again informed that the undercarriage appeared to be down. The aircraft was then observed to be entering into a shallow climb, which took it over woodland to the north-east of the aerodrome. At this point, the pilot reported that the aircraft's engine had failed, and sent a brief message 'I'M GOING IN'. The aircraft crashed into the woods at Ottershaw, north-east of Fairoaks Aerodrome; shortly after the initial impact, there was a fierce fire.

An eyewitness working nearby ran to the crash site, and assisted one passenger from the aircraft, then dragged the pilot out from the wreckage. However, the fire quickly took hold, and there was an explosion, probably from fuel igniting, which meant that he was unable to recover the other two passengers. Although the Fairoaks Fire crew arrived on scene within two minutes, the two passengers died in the fire"

According to a local newspaper report into the incident, a well known celebrity was involved ("Newcastle Evening Chronicle" - Friday 26 April 1985)

"Air Crash hero tells of rescue

DRIVER Alan Bayliss was hailed a hero today for saving the lives of two people after a light aircraft crashed in a ball flame, killing a married couple.

TV personality Noel Edmonds was caught up in the drama as Mr Bayliss, 31, three times risked his own life in a series of explosions after the four seater Piper came down in woods is Surrey last night.

First he pulled builder Derek Phillips from the fire then plunged bock to drag clear pilot Raymond Fogden, whose clothes were alight. He rolled him on the around to douse the flames. Finally he pushed in a window in a bid to reach a screaming woman and her husband but another blast turned the plane into a raging inferno.

Mr Fogden 40, of Sunbury, Surrey, was today seriously ill, but stable, in the specialist burns unit at Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton.

Mr Phillips, also 40, of Staines, Surrey, was expected to be allowed home from hospital today. The names of the dead couple were due to be released today.

Noel Edmonds was one of the first on the scene after the single engine Piper crashed as it prepared to land at Fairoaks Airport, Chobham. He tended to one of the men rescued by Mr Baylis, ripping off his jacket and putting it round the victim.

Mr Bayliss, hailed by a fire officer as "very brave" - said the plane had circled a couple of times, then the engine cut out. The Piper clipped a tree then nose-dived. "When I got there I could see one man who was moving. I managed to pull him out, but he was burning".

Another local newspaper report named the two fatalities ("Aberdeen Press and Journal - Saturday 27 April 1985)

"INVESTIGATIONS were continuing yesterday in attempt to discover why light aircraft crashed in a ball of flame, killing a married couple.

The couple, who died when their plane came down in woods in Surrey on Thursday night, have been named as Mr Graham House (56) and his wife, June (45). Both were accountants and lived at Weybrldge, Surrey.

Officials from the Civil Aviation Authority began inspecting the wreckage of the plane at first light in a bid to find out what caused the four-seater Piper Lance to plummet to the ground.

The other two in the plane, pilot Mr Raymond Frogden (39), of Sunbury, and Derek Phillips (41) of Staines, Middlesex, who both survived the crash, were yesterday detained in hospital".

Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report, the aircraft was "destroyed". as a result, the registration G-HUGH was cancelled by the CAA on 21/1/1987 (almost two years later) as "destroyed"

G-HUGH was built in 1978, and was ex-G-IFLY (10/1/1979 to 11/2/1980) and was US Registered as N21200 before that (1978-1979)

1. Newcastle Evening Chronicle - Friday 26 April 1985
2. Aberdeen Press and Journal - Friday 26 April 1985
3. Aberdeen Press and Journal - Saturday 27 April 1985
4. AAIB: https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/5422f813e5274a13170006eb/Piper_PA32RT_Lance_G-HUGH_10-85.pdf
5. CAA as G-HUGH: https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-HUGH.pdf
6. CAA as G-IFLY: https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-IFLY.pdf
7. https://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=17866.0
8. G-HUGH as G-IFLY at Cranfield (EGTC) in 1979: https://www.na3t.org/air/photo/MS01288-3
9. G-HUGH as N21200 at Kidlington (EGTK) 8/1/1979 after delivery to UK: https://www.na3t.org/air/photo/MS02424-08
10. https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottershaw
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairoaks_Airport

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
18-Nov-2015 21:35	Dr.John Smith	Added
18-Nov-2015 21:57	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
18-Nov-2015 21:59	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
18-Nov-2015 22:00	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
18-Nov-2015 22:02	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
16-Nov-2020 19:45	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, Accident report]
16-Nov-2020 19:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]