ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 200847
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| Date: | Monday 1 August 1932 |
| Time: | c. 20.30 LT |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.60G Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Reginald H. Lemon |
| Registration: | G-AAEL |
| MSN: | 994 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Armthorpe Aerodrome, Doncaster, South Yorkshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Armthorpe Aerodrome, Doncaster, South Yorkshire |
| Armthorpe Aerodrome, Doncaster, South Yorkshire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
c/no 994: DH.60G [Gipsy I] registered G-AAEL [C of R 1874] 2.29 to Flight Lt Frank O. Soden, RAF Wittering. C of A 1854 issued 21.3.29. Registered [C of R 2442] 2.30 to The Right Hon Frederick E Guest, Hanworth. Registered [C of R 2676] 6.30 to Flight Lt David V. Carnegie, RAF Wittering (later RAF Andover). When owned by him, took part in the 1930 Kings Cup Air Race (race number '60') on 5.7.30, but withdrew from the race at Newcastle-upon-Tyne with engine failure.
Registered [C of R 3854] 7.32 to Doncaster Aviation Co Ltd, Armthorpe Aerodrome. Registered [C of R 2889] 28.7.32 to Reginald H Lemon, Armthorpe, Doncaster.
Written off (destroyed) when spun in from 500 feet at Armthorpe Aerodrome, Doncaster, South Yorkshire 1.8.32; On Bank Holiday Monday, 1st August 1932 a flying gala was held at Armthorpe "Park Lane" aerodrome by the Doncaster Aviation Club and this Gipsy Moth was used to take up fare paying passengers. The club's instructor, Mr Eric Swiss, was their fully qualified pilot who was able to take paying passengers but at the time of this flight he was giving a flight to Scarborough with two competition winners in another aircraft, Puss Moth G-ABEC.
The pilot of G-AAEL was a director of the Doncaster Aviation Company who was a qualified pilot but he did not hold the correct licence to take paying passengers. He only held an "A-Licence". Other directors of the club knew he was not qualified to take fare-paying passengers but allowed him to make several flights with passengers during the gala. At the end of the day the flying was all but concluded, the bulk of the visitors had left, Puss Moth G-ABEC had not yet returned from Scarborough and the organisers were about to end the gala.
The director of the club and pilot of G-AAEL was informed that when a boy was particularly keen to have a flight and as to not disappoint him, he decided he would give the boy a short flight in the Gipsy Moth. Another director of the Doncaster Aviation Company decided he would also fly with the boy as the pilot believed he would need a responsible person to fly with him. The DH.60 Moth was a two-seater aircraft but the child sat on the knee of the adult passenger in the front seat.
The aircraft took off from Armthorpe aerodrome at around 20.30hrs and climbed to 1500 feet, a loop was made but then the aircraft entered a spin at around 500 feet off the ground, control was not regained by the time it crashed. It crashed in a cornfield two fields away from the aerodrome. The adult passenger in the front seat was killed and the child died of his injuries the next day while the pilot, in the rear seat, survived with less serious injuries.
The pilot later stated that the aircraft's rudder had suddenly been moved causing him to lose control. Puss Moth G-ABEC returned to Armthorpe after the crash and the pilot had to overfly the crash site to land. A lengthy inquest into the deaths was held and the pilot of G-AAEL was deemed to blame for the accident, his flying licence was suspended. Doncaster Aviation Company Ltd were deemed negligent at the inquest because the company knew the pilot was not qualified to take passengers in such a manner. The pilot was deemed responsible for the accident and his flying license was suspended
Pilot - Mr Augustus Grey Dixwell Alderson, aged 33 or 34, Director of Doncaster Aviation Company. Injured.
Passenger - Mr Harry Addy, Director of Doncaster Aviation Company, aged 21 or 22. Burial location unknown.
Passenger - Mr Mark Allinson, aged 14, died 2nd August 1932 of injuries sustained. Buried Armthorpe, Doncaster.
After losing G-AAEL in the crash in August 1932, the company intended to purchase at least one replacement aeroplane. However, by the end of 1932, the Doncaster Aviation Company Ltd was in significant debt and was wound up as bankrupt. Following the crash in August 1932, detailed above, the insurance company refused to admit liability, almost certainly because the company directors knew the pilot was not qualified to take passengers, the pilot was also a director of the company and the chairman of the flying club, and that the aeroplane was not designed for three persons.
Registration G-AAEL cancelled October 1932 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawal from use of aircraft". The pilot (born 10.5.1898) recovered from his injuries, and died in June 1986, aged 97.
Sources:
1. https://ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh60.pdf
2. https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AAEL.pdf
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A.html
4. https://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/yorkshire/york32/aael.html
5. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1934.htm
6. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/gb-registers-g-aa/g-aa-part-1?highlight=WyJnLWFhZWwiXQ==
7. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60g-moth-armthorpe-2-killed
8. 1930 Kings Cup Air Race: https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/pioneering-women/kings-cup-1930?highlight=WyJnLWFhZWwiXQ==
9. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p009.html
10. https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/640714
11. https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/doncaster-iii-armthorpe/
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armthorpe
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Nov-2017 19:43 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 03-Nov-2017 19:44 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 03-Nov-2017 19:45 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source] |
| 21-Jan-2024 15:22 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Phase, Source, Narrative, Category] |
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