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| Date: | Monday 30 December 1935 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Arrow Active 1 |
| Owner/operator: | Alexander Henshaw |
| Registration: | G-ABIX |
| MSN: | 1 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Marshchapel, East Lindsay, 11 miles SE of Grimsby, Lincolnshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Waltham Grange Airfield, near Grimsby, Lincolnshire |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Arrow Aircraft (Leeds) Ltd. was formed at Leeds in April, 1930 to produce the Arrow Active single-seat all-metal aerobatic biplane, largely designed by Arthur Cecil Thornton (responsible for Blackburn Bluebird of 1924). Only two Arrow Actives were built, of which G-ABIX was the first. (The second was G-ABVE, which was rebuilt in 1958 and is now the sole surviving example of the type). First registered (C of R 3026) 26.2.31 to Arrow Aircraft Ltd., Leeds, West Yorkshire (aircraft based at Sherburn-in-Elmet). C of A 3046 issued 21.5.31.
Sold on and re-registered to C.R. Belling, Sherburn-in-Elmet. The Active 1 G-ABIX flew at 132.2 mph (212 km/h) in the 1932 King's Cup Race. Sold on and re-registered to Arrow Aircraft (Leeds) Ltd., Sherburn-in-Elmet. Sold on and re-registered (C of R 5930) on 30.5.35 to Alexander Henshaw, Mablethorpe. Lincolnshire
Written off (destroyed) 30.12.35 when crashed at Marshchapel, East Lindsay, eleven miles south east of Grimsby, Lincolnshire when G-ABIX suffered an engine fire while performing aerobatics. Pilot/owner Alex Henshaw bailed out safely, although he had to "dodge" the Arrow Active as it spiralled into the ground on fire, the aircraft at one point crossing Henshaw's descent path.
The details of the demise of G-ABIX are described in detail in "Air Yorkshire" magazine (April 2024 p.12):
"The first Active to fly, G-ABIX, had been purchased by Alex Henshaw in May 1935 apparently intended to satisfy his increasing involvement in competitive flying, but it met with a fiery end on 30th December that same year. He was flying from Waltham Grange Airfield, near Grimsby to Brough and at 3000ft during a series of violent aerobatics the carburettor overflowed, petrol spilled onto the hot exhaust causing a fire under the pilot's feet.
Henshaw had no option but to jump immediately, especially as the fuel tank was mounted behind the instrument panel. He took to his parachute whilst over Covenham, South of Grimsby, and after drifting for 2 miles he landed safely near Louth, though unsurprisingly his flying boots had been burnt. He hadn't always worn a 'chute but luckily his father had persuaded him 2 weeks previously to start wearing one. The pilotless Active came down in a wide spiral and plunged nose first into a ploughed field at Marshchapel, again near Grimsby, and was destroyed when the petrol tank exploded".
Alex Henshaw replaced the Arrow Active with a Percival Mew Gull, G-AEXF, for which he became famous following a series of record-breaking flights in 1937-38 in the Mew Gull.
Marshchapel is a coastal village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately 11 miles (18 km) south-east from Grimsby and 13 miles (21 km) north-east from Louth.
Sources:
1. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/aeroplanes/15-aeroplanes/76-register-gb-g-ab
2. CAA: https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-ABIX.pdf
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A2.htmll
4. "Air Yorkshire" magazine (April 2024 p.12): https://magazines.airyorkshire.org.uk/Air.Yorkshire.April.2024.pdf
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_Active
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Henshaw
7. http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/GauthierDavidJ/7204.htm
8. https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/archive-exhibitions/alex-henshaw-flying-legend-a-life-in-art/view-selected-works/arrow-active.aspx
9. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Accmisc.htm
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshchapel
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Dec-2017 22:33 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 09-Jul-2025 16:51 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 19-Jul-2025 05:48 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Narrative, ] |
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