ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 201030
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| Date: | Saturday 2 May 1936 |
| Time: | 11:45 LT |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.60G Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Portsmouth Aero Club Ltd |
| Registration: | G-AAJA |
| MSN: | 1106 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Fairfield Nurseries, Wych Lane, Gosport, Hampshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Portsmouth Aerodrome, Portsmouth, Hampshire |
DH.60G [Gipsy I] registered as G-AAJA [C of R 2044] 18.6.29 to Hugh S Eaton, based on strip at Peaslake, Surrey. [C of A 2069] issued 20.6.29. Registered [by 10.30] to John E.D. Holder, Heston, Middlesex. Up For sale [by 12.34] by Brian Lewis & Co Ltd, Heston.
Re-registered [C of R 5609] 1.3.35 to Reginald Branston, Cambridge. Registered [C of R 6230] 22.8.35 to Owen R Guard, Portsmouth. Registered [C of R 6604] 18.12.35 to Portsmouth Aero Club, Portsmouth, Hampshire.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed whilst low flying over Fairfield Nurseries, near Gosport, Hampshire, 2.5.36; pilot Peter A Nicholas later fined for dangerous flying. A contemporary local newspaper report gives details of why this happened ("Portsmouth Evening News" - Saturday 2 May 1936)
CIVILIAN ’PLANE CRASHES AT GOSPORT
Gardeners working in Fairfield Nurseries, Wych Lane, Gosport, had a narrow escape shortly before noon to-day, when a Gipsy Moth aeroplane piloted by Mr. Peter Nicholas, son of Admiral Nicholas, of Lee-on-Solent, crashed near where they were working. The pilot, too, was lucky to escape with his life, as the machine was completely wrecked, portions being spread over an area of 50 to 100 yards.
According to eye-witnesses he made a sudden dive, and came through a narrow gap between a tree and a strawberry forcing house, flattened out slightly, passing over Mr. Geo. Mason, of 6, Elson Lane, Gosport, who, with Mr. T. Hutchinson and Mr. Harold Vickery, both of Fareham, were planting chrysanthemums on land between a strawberry forcing house and some strawberry frames.
They instinctively crouched low to the ground, and the narrowness of Mr. Mason’s escape may be judged from the fact that the tail skid of the plane whipped off the tops of the last four plants that he had just put in. After it had passed him the machine wing tip touched one of the strawberry frames, causing it to gyrate like a top, smashing frames as it went for a distance of about 50 yards. Then it turned completely over, the engine being flung some distance from the wreckage, and the fuselage finished up parallel with the wings.
Crawled Out of Wreckage
The pilot, although badly shaken, managed to crawl out of the wreckage, and with assistance, went to the house of one of the partners owning the nurseries, Mr. A. E. Hartfall. Mrs. Hartfall rendered what assistance she could. He was badly cut in a diagonal direction from the nose to the lip, the lip itself being severed. The other partner in the nurseries, Mr, M. Lamplough, immediately rushed him down into Gosport for medical attention.
The machine is understood to have belonged to Portsmouth Airport, and is a complete wreck. Had the pilot been in the front cockpit he must have been instantly killed. He was sitting in the rear cockpit, and the cut that he received was from the glass of the windscreen. An amazing thing is that after the accident a watch on the instrument board was still going.
Pilot Taken to Hospital
Mr. Nicholas was not a member of the Portsmouth Aero Club, but had flown with them on several occasions. He was treated Dr. Charles Lamplough. who inserted several stitches, and ordered his removal to the Gosport War Memorial Hospital, as he was suffering from severe shock.
Mr. Mason, describing his experiences, said; “I first saw the plane about 11.45. It appeared to be coming towards me, and dived to within about 10 to 12 feet from the ground. It then rose into the air, and after carrying out a perfect loop it came down towards us, but this time it was lower, and as far can see the pilot apparently realized that he was too low and tried to rise. His skid touched the ground, pulled the ’plane round, and when the wing tip touched the frame it spun round.”
Mr. Nicholas is in the Royal Air Force Reserve of Pilots"
Registration G-AAJA cancelled 2.8.36 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawal from use of aircraft"
Sources:
1. Portsmouth Evening News - Saturday 2 May 1936
2. The Scotsman - Monday 4 May 1936
3. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AAJA.pdf
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A.html
5. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60g-moth-near-gosport
6. http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/hancrash.html
7. https://ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh60.pdf
8. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=15525.0
9. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p011.html
10. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/gb-registers-g-aa/g-aa-part-1?highlight=WyJnLWFhamEiXQ==
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gosport
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Nov-2017 23:06 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 01-Mar-2020 02:17 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Oct-2023 19:15 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [[Time, Location, Source, Narrative]] |
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