Date:	Friday 18 June 1954
Time:	13:28
Type:	Boulton Paul Balliol T.2
Owner/operator:	288 Sqn RAF
Registration:	WG149
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Harbridge Farm, North Gorley, 1.5 miles North of Ibsley, Hampshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Middle Wallop, Hampshire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Boulton Paul Balliol T.Mk.2 WG149, 288 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) 18/6/54 when crashed at North Gorley, one and a half miles North of Ibsley, near Fordingbridge, Hampshire. The port main plane suffered a structural failure resulting in the wing and the tail breaking off during a GCI interception, resulting in the remainder of the aircraft diving into the ground. Both crew on board were killed (no survivors)

Balliol T2 WG149 took off from R.A.F. Middle Wallop at 12.45 hrs on 18th June 1954 to carry out a training exercise (practice Ground Controlled Interception in conjunction with another Balliol), which was to take place between 7,000 ft and 7,500 ft. Four satisfactory interceptions were carried out, but at 13.28 hrs R/T and radar contact with WG149 was lost. About two minutes later witnesses on the ground heard an aircraft diving, and saw the Balliol emerge from the low cloud. The port wing and tail were seen to break off and the stricken aircraft plunged into the ground at Harbridge Farm, Ibsley, killing both occupants.

The pilot was named as Sergeant Jindrich Horsky (Service Number 788117, aged 40) and he had extensive experience in all types of aircraft totalling 3,241 hours. His last assessment had rated him as an exceptional pilot. The other occupant of the aircraft was Officer Cadet Michael Giles Christopher Hayward (aged 19, student Fighter Controller) and officially a passenger on an "air experience flight"

Note that the official Air Ministry file into the accident (File BT 233/215 - see link #3) gives the crash location as "near Fordingbridge, Hants". However Balliol WG149 came down nearer to North Gorley, Ibsley, which is a village in Hampshire, England. It is about 2.5 miles (4 km) north of the town of Ringwood. It is in the civil parish of Ellingham, Harbridge and Ibsley. Fordingbridge is approximately 4 miles to the north of Ibsley along the A338 road.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.159 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 42)
3. Category Five: A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.64
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/215: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424336
5. http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/hancrash.html
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WG
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibsley
8. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=5874.0

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-Jun-2008 21:06	JINX	Added
12-Nov-2018 17:51	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Phase, Nature, Operator]
10-Jan-2020 02:12	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
14-Feb-2020 18:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative]
02-Apr-2020 22:55	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]