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| Date: | Wednesday 19 November 1930 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Armstrong Whitworth Atlas Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 26 Squadron, RAF |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Little Fencote, near Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Catterick, North Yorkshire |
On 19th November 1930 this 26 Squadron aircraft was being flown in the general area of the crew's base at Catterick when it was seen circling in mist around two miles south of Catterick aerodrome with smoke coming from it. It was thought that the pilot was trying force land the aircraft in a field between Little Fencote and the A1 Great North Road when it crashed. The aircraft broke up in the crash around three hundred yards from the A1 with the bulk of the wreckage catching fire.
As reported at the time in a contemporary local newspaper
"TRAPPED IN BLAZING MACHINE -
Leamington Spa Courier - 21st November 1930
********************************************************************************
"As a result of an accident near Catterick, North Yorkshire, to an Atlas aircraft of no.26 Squadron, Catterick, today, Pilot Officer John Anthony Chance, the pilot of the aircraft, was killed, and Sgt. Adam Maitland was seriously injured. This makes the forty second R.A.F. aeroplane crash this year and the sixty second death."
The above announcement by the Air Ministry on Wednesday records the tragic fate of the second son of Mr & Mrs Kenneth Chance, of the Manor House, Radford Semele, Warwickshire.
The accident occurred 2 miles south of Catterick Aerodrome, the aeroplane crashing to the ground in flames.
Pilot Officer Chance was burnt to death, his end, it is believed, was absolutely instantaneous, and Maitland, who was thrown out of the machine when it crashed, sustained serious burns.
The aeroplane was seen circling in the mist, only a few feet above the ground, by members of staff of the Bedale Hunt kennels.
It appeared to be in difficulties, and after wheeling several times it tilted to one side. There was a loud explosion and the plane then crashed. At first it seemed to be making a safe landing, but when the machine touched the ground a sheet of flame rose.
The kennel staff raced to the scene, and found Maitland lying close to the blazing aeroplane. They pulled him to safety, but they were unable to approach the machine on account of the flames.
AN EYE WITNESS'S ACCOUNT
*****************************
Mrs Edith Bertram, of Holtby Cottages, who was one of the first to reach the spot, said her attention was drawn to the plane owing to it flying so low. "It circled several times above the house, and l saw smoke coming from it," she said.
"One of the occupants waved to me, and l waved back. The pilot then circled above the field opposite my home, and appeared to make a normal descent, but as the aeroplane was descending l was certain it was on fire. When it touched the ground a sheet of flame shot out, and there was a terrific explosion."
"I ran across the field, and as l got there a member of the Bedale Hunt kennels staff came up. We saw Maitland in a crouching position about four yards from the blazing machine. He was very dazed, and his face and hands were badly burned."
"We pulled him away, and he said: 'There's another chap in there.' It was impossible, however, to do anything."
Mr Dan Wilkinson, an employee of the Bedale Hunt kennels, said: "Other kennelmen and l, with bits of wood taken from the fuselage, managed to dislodge the body of the pilot. His clothes were burning all over. We put the flames out, but the man was dead."
A KEEN SPORTSMAN
*********************
Pilot Officer Chance was 21 years old. After leaving Eton he underwent two years flying training at Cranwell, and passed out at Midsummer of this year. In September he went to Catterick and joined the 26th (Army Co-Operation) Squadron. His personality was such that he will be missed not only by all his friends, but by all those who take an interest in the sporting activities of the district. At Cranwell he was whip to the Beagles, and a keen oarsman.
Our Radford Correspondent writes: - Mr "Toots" Chance, as he was familiarly known, was very popular here, and particularly so with the younger folk, to whom he greatly endeared himself by his wholehearted enthusiasm for clean sport and healthy amusement. His generous and genial personality will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.
The news of the tragic end of a life so full of promise has cast a gloom over the whole village."
*******************************************************
Pilot - Pilot Officer John Anthony "Toots" Chance RAF (156231), aged 21. Buried St. Nicholas' Churchyard, Radford Semele, Warwickshire.
Passenger - Sgt Adam Maitland RAF, aged 26. Injured.
John Chance was born on 23rd June 1909 in Marylebone, London and was the second son of Kenneth Macomb and Muriel Chance. Kenneth Chance was Chairman and Managing Director of British Industrial Plastics Ltd. John was known to his family as 'Toots' and studied at Eton College. Having trained at RAF College Cranwell John Chance was granted a permanent commission in the RAF as P/O on 26th July 1930. The John Anthony Chance Memorial Prize was donated in his memory but I have been unable to establish if this is still awarded.
Adam Maitland was born on 6th November 1901 at Dundee. He later recovered from his injuries sustained near Catterick in November 1930 to some extent but would appear to have left the RAF. He became a director of the Arrow Aircraft (Leeds) Ltd, of Little Russell Street, Leeds by 1932. He was awarded a Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate (Cert.No.10408) after training at the Yorkshire Aero Club on 13th March 1932. The Arrow Aircraft (Leeds) Ltd company was owned by Arthur Cecil Thompson who had worked for Blackburn aircraft and designed the Bluebird IV. He left Blackburn and set up Arrow in 1930. Arrow designed and manufactured just two aircraft in the early 1930s. The Arrow Active 1 G-ABIX was flown in the King's Cup Air Race in 1932 but was damaged following a fire and crash in 1935 and the pilot and owner, Alex Henshaw, left by parachute. The other Active 2 G-ABVE was flown in the King's Cup Air Races of 1932 and 1933, it was rebuilt in 1958 and 1989 and it still flying. These two Arrow aircraft were prototypes and no other orders followed. The company ran until 1951 manufacturing aircraft components in a building at Yeadon airfield. He died in Bury St. Edmunds in 1978.
Little Fencote is a small village in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near Great Fencote and Kirkby Fleetham, about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the A1(M) motorway
Sources:
1. Leamington Spa Courier - 21st November 1930
2. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1934.htm
3. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?17427-RAF-Fatalities-1930
4. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176926703/john_anthony-chance
5. https://www.rafweb.org/Members%20Pages/Cranwell%20Cadets/Graduations%201930.htm
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._26_Squadron_RAF#Between_the_wars
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Fencote
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Apr-2018 23:25 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 10-Nov-2018 07:11 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 19-May-2024 09:15 | Nepa | Updated [Location, Narrative, Operator, ] |
| 27-Jul-2025 08:05 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
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