ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 18778
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| Date: | Tuesday 17 August 1937 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | de Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly |
| Owner/operator: | Sir William Firth |
| Registration: | G-AEEK |
| MSN: | 7518 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Upper Beeding, 4 miles north of Shoreham, West Sussex, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Heston Aerodrome, Middlesex |
| Shoreham Airport, West Sussex (EGKA) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
c/no 7518 (Gipsy Major #8572/8590): Registered as G-AEEK [C of R 6817] 27.6.36 to Sir William John Firth, London WC2 (aircraft based Heston and/or Brooklands). C of A 5555 issued 11.9.36. Written off (destroyed) 18.7.37 when crashed at Beeding Court Farm, Upper Beeding, 4 miles from Shoreham, West Sussex
"It was on 17.8.37 Ken Firth and Jimmy Gunn took Sir William Firth's D.H.90 Dragonfly, G-AEEK, for what was intended to be a short trip down to Shoreham. The flight went disastrously wrong when the aircraft hit some power lines on the South Downs and ploughed into a field near the village of [Upper] Beeding, just north of Shoreham...both Ken and Jimmy scrambled out of the wreckage virtually unhurt and as they stood there a car pulled up which turned out to be the local taxi cab".
According to a contemporary newspaper report ("Dundee Courier" - Wednesday 18 August 1937)
"AIRMEN HIT 11,000 VOLT CABLE - UNHURT.
Two R.A.F. airmen escaped unhurt when their plane crashed in a field at Beeding, about two miles from Shoreham (Sussex) airport yesterday, and hit an 11,000 volt cable. The machine, a twin-engined five-seater service one, was apparently attempting to make a forced landing when it crashed into the electric power cable. Practically the only part of the plane which was undamaged was the cabin. Mrs Howell, of Beeding, who was working an adjoining field, said - "The plane was travelling in the direction of Shoreham airport. It circled round and came down into the wires and there were flashes. The airmen walked out of the machine."
Registration G-AEEK cancelled by the Air Ministry 7.12.37 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawl from use of aircraft"
Upper Beeding is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the northern end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles (6.4 km) north of Shoreham-by-Sea
Sources:
1. Dundee Courier - Wednesday 18 August 1937
2. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/15-aeroplanes/79-register-gb-g-ae
3. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AEEK.pdf
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A8.html
5. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=2051.0
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p075.html
7. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh90-dragonfly-beeding
8. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH90.pdf
9. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Accb1939.htm
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Beeding
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-May-2008 11:10 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Mar-2010 13:29 | TB | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Location, Nature, Narrative] |
| 22-Apr-2013 00:31 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Total occupants, Location, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 23-Jan-2018 00:05 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Feb-2020 19:08 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Nov-2022 18:44 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 07-Jul-2023 11:11 | Nepa | Updated [[Location, Source, Narrative, Category]] |
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