ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 28532
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| Date: | Saturday 20 July 1963 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide |
| Owner/operator: | Mayflower Air Services |
| Registration: | G-AHLM |
| MSN: | 6708 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 8 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | St Marys, Scilly Islands -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | St. Marys, Scilly Isles (EGHE) |
| Lands End Airport (LEQ/EGHC) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
C/no.6708: Taken on charge as HG723 against Contract No.6/Acft/2580/C20a at 18 MU RAF Dumfries 18.3.44. To 1680 Flight, Prestwick 17.10.45; coded "MJ-XN". Sold 16.4.46 to AAJC, Prestwick. Registered as G-AHLM (C of R 10160) 8.5.46 to Scottish Airways Ltd, Renfrew (on hire from Ministry of Civil Aviation). C of A 7780 issued 13.7.46; delivered 23.10.46. Cancelled 31.1.47 & re-registered 1.2.47 to British European Airways Corporation. Sold 13.2.48 & registered 6.3.48 to Marshall's Flying School Ltd, Cambridge. C of R No changed to R2008 in 1950.
Cancelled 1.4.52 & re-registered 9.4.52 to Marshalls Flying Services Ltd, Cambridge. Converted to DH.89A Series 6 27.9.60 at Portsmouth. Delivered to Exeter 22.1.61. Cancelled 6.6.61 & re-registered 13.6.61 to Kenneth Philip Hubert Cleife, Ivybridge; operated by Mayflower Air Services, Roborough (Plymouth) Airport.
Rapide G-AHLM was engaged on a scheduled service from the Scilly Isles to Plymouth, carrying seven passengers, with one pilot. During the take-off run from a grass strip at St. Mary's Aerodrome, in calm conditions, the aircraft developed a series of bounces and swung sharply to the left and then to the right. It became airborne shortly before crossing the boundary of the useable area of the aerodrome. It then banked to the right and the tip of the lower starboard wing was seen to cut through gorse bushes in the overrun area.
A few yards further on the starboard wing struck a large rock and the aircraft cartwheeled and caught fire, coming to rest with the rear part of the fuselage overhanging a cliff. All seven passengers escaped through the emergency hatch in the cabin roof, and the pilot, Captain K.P.H.Cleife, who was seriously injured, was extricated from the cockpit wreckage by a member of the aerodrome fire service and an airline employee. Investigations revealed that the cause was due to a burst main wheel tyre.
According to a contemporary report in "Flight" magazine (August 1, 1963 page 1331):
"Good News of Sqn Ldr Cleife
Sqn Ldr K. P. H. Cleife, managing director of Mayflower Air Services Ltd, is reported to be "off the danger list", having suffered severe burns and injuries in the accident to a Mayflower Rapide on July 20. Sqn Ldr Cleife was commander of the aircraft, which caught fire and was written off after crashing on the rocks near St Mary's, Scilly Isles, immediately after taking off on a flight to Plymouth.
No lives were lost but four of the seven passengers were injured. Mrs Cleife tells Flight International that Mayflower has been inundated with offers of assistance —"it has been wonderful," she says
Registration cancelled 26.10.63 as "PWFU" ("Permanently Withdrawn From Use").
Sources:
1. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh89.pdf
2. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AHLM-1.pdf
3. http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AHLM-2.pdf
4. https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?107765-Dragon-Rapides-Lands-end
5. https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?33112-Mayflower-Air-Services
6. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh89a-dragon-rapide-saint-marys
7. Flight magazine (August 1, 1963. page 1331): https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1963/1963%20-%201331.html?search=Mayflower%20Air%20Services
8. Survey of accidents to aircraft in the United Kingdom 1963 / CAA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 20-Jul-2009 21:22 | VHKDK | Updated |
| 16-Jan-2012 16:26 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 01-May-2012 13:47 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 27-May-2015 16:59 | harro | Updated [Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Feb-2019 21:52 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
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