Date:	Tuesday 3 July 1951
Time:	morning
Type:	de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk T.10
Owner/operator:	2 RFS RAF
Registration:	WB579
MSN:	C1/0031
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Ogden Flat, Arnfield Moor, 5 miles north of Glossop, Derbyshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	Barton Airfield, Eccles, Manchester
Destination airport:	Barton Airfield, Eccles, Manchester
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Aircraft History:
23/02/50: Aircraft awaiting collection, de Havillands, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England
28/03/50: No.22 RFS, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
28/06/51: No.2 RFS, RAF Barton, Greater Mancheser, England
03/07/51: Written off: "Pilot Officer Harry Bate Wright RAFVR, had a lucky double escape when his de Havilland Chipmunk crashed on Ogden Flat, Arnfield Moor, Tintwistle, 5 miles north of Glossop, Derbyshire.

Descending blind through low cloud and rain, Pilot Officer Wright thought he was close to base at Barton Aerodrome but was in fact some 15 miles east of there.

The pilot just saw the ground appear but he had no time to react and the fixed undercarriage of the aircraft struck the moor, flipping the Chipmunk over and onto its back.

When he came round, Pilot Officer Wright was hanging upside down in his harness and trapped in the cockpit of the trainer aircraft, which had been forced down into the soft peat.

Fearing there might be an explosion at any moment, he clawed his way out through the peat in a state of panic and managed to wriggle free of the wreck. There was no explosion, luckily for Pilot Officer Wright. In a state of shock, he stumbled down the hillside to Arnfield Farm where the airman, plastered head to toe in wet black peat, was able to get some help.

Crew: Pilot only.
Pilot Officer Harry Bate Wright (pilot) RAFVR OK.

According to a commentary from the pilot, dated 30 June 2012:

"Interesting to read the comments about the Chipmunk crash as I was the pilot – still alive and kicking and enjoying retirement in Melbourne, Australia. Takes me back to the bloody hands after escaping the broken cockpit, and the lady farmer at Arnfield farm on answering the door to find a rather muddied figure unable to speak – I then realised what shock was! After taking in the situation she took me inside for a cuppa, and after recovering and explaining said "Well, you are one lucky son of a gun". Have since enjoyed much flying in Sailplanes – beautifully serene and no petrol to worry about.!"

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.115 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take Off; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p.155
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J. Halley, Air britain, 1983, p.19)
4. http://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/crash_sites/peak-district/de-havilland-canada-chipmunk-wb579-arnfield-moor/
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WB

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
01-Jun-2008 11:08	JINX	Added
12-Nov-2011 09:10	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative]
15-Mar-2013 13:20	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
09-Aug-2014 15:43	TB	Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Embed code]
09-Aug-2014 15:44	TB	Updated [Aircraft type, Source]
09-Aug-2014 15:45	TB	Updated [Aircraft type]
20-Dec-2015 04:16	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
11-Mar-2019 07:22	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]
02-Feb-2021 01:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
02-Feb-2021 01:43	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
02-Feb-2021 11:48	TB	Updated [Operator, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Operator]
05-Feb-2021 17:16	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]