ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 163029
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| Date: | Thursday 14 May 1931 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.60G Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Capt. The Hon Denys G Finch-Hatton, MC |
| Registration: | G-ABAK |
| MSN: | 1265 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Voi Airport, Coast Province, 143 km West North West of Mombasa -
 Kenya
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Voi Aerodrome, Voi, Kenya (HKVO) |
| Nairobi Airport, Nairobi, Kenya |
c/no 1265: DH.60G Moth [Gipsy II] registered G-ABAK [C of R 2643] 11.6.30 to Capt. The Hon Denys G Finch-Hatton, Stag Lane, Edgware, Middlesex; (as a replacement for G-AAKR). C of A 2546 issued 11.7.30.
On the morning of 14.5.1931, Finch Hatton's Gipsy Moth G-ABAK took off from Voi Airport, Voi, Kenya, circled the airport twice, then plunged to the ground and burst into flames. Denys Finch Hatton and his Kikuyu servant Kamau were killed. His final flight is recounted by fellow pilot Markham in her memoir West with the Night.
In accordance with his wishes, Finch Hatton was buried in the Ngong Hills, some five miles (8 km) to the west of the present-day Nairobi National Park. Karen Blixen had chosen the site. "There was a place in the hills, on the first ridge in the Game Reserve that I myself, at the time I thought that I was to live and die in Africa, had pointed out to Denys as my future burial-place. In the evening while we looked at the hills from my home, he remarked that then he would like to be buried there himself as well. Since then, sometimes when we drove out in the hills, Denys had said; 'Let us drive as far as our graves'."
Later, his brother erected an obelisk at the gravesite upon which he placed a simple brass plaque inscribed with Finch Hatton's name, the dates of his birth and death and an extract from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's narrative poem the Rime of the Ancient Mariner: "He prayeth well, who loveth well both man and bird and beast". The co-ordinates of the gravesite are: 1.4134°S 36.6626°E.
A footbridge at Eton is inscribed with the words "Famous in these fields and by his many friends greatly beloved. Denys Finch Hatton 1900–1906". The dates refer to his attendance at Eton: Hatton was born 24 April 1887 and died 14 May 1931, so was aged 44 at the time.
Fictional portrayals
Denys Finch Hatton was portrayed by Robert Redford in the 1985 film Out of Africa. The film received heavily mixed reviews from critics but, nonetheless, won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Sydney Pollack and Best Adapted Screenplay. Denys Finch Hatton was portrayed by Trevor Eve in the 1988 miniseries Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun.
Registration G-ABAK cancelled as crashed 2.7.31: Kenya registration VP-KAM reserved 31.5.31 but not taken up due to destruction of aircraft
Voi Airport (IATA: n/a, ICAO: HKVO) is located in Taita-Taveta County, in the town of Voi, in southeastern Kenya, close to the international border with the Republic of Tanzania. The airport lies just beyond the western edge of Tsavo East National Park.
Its location is approximately 290 kilometres (180 miles), by air, southeast of Nairobi International Airport, the country's largest civilian airport. The geographic coordinates of this airport are: 3° 21' 44.00"S, 38° 31' 54.00"E (Latitude: -3.362221; Longitude:38.531667).
Sources:
1. https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/14299/fsx-dehavilland-gipsy-moth-g-abak/
2. http://ab-ix.co.uk/vp-kaa.pdf
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denys_Finch_Hatton#Death
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_VP-K.html
5. https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ABAK.pdf
6. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-gb-registers-g-ab/g-ab-part-1?highlight=WyJnLWFiYWsiXQ==
7. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf
8. https://baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60g-moth-voi-2-killed
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_with_the_Night
10. https://www.europeansineastafrica.co.uk/_site/custom/database/default.asp?a=viewIndividual&pid=2&person=767
11. https://www.geni.com/people/Denys-Finch-Hatton/6000000011998765086
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_Africa
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voi_Airport
Location
Media:
Plaque on obelisk, Finch Hatton's GraveRevision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Jan-2014 13:27 | whiteshark | Added |
| 05-Jan-2014 15:46 | whiteshark | Updated [Operator, Location] |
| 08-Feb-2014 04:02 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 16-Mar-2015 04:56 | DarylCostin | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Aug-2017 17:22 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Aug-2017 17:24 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type] |
| 02-Dec-2023 15:38 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category] |
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