Date:	Sunday 21 July 2019
Time:	15:25
Type:	Bushby Midget Mustang M-1
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:	G-AWIR
MSN:	PFA 1315
Year of manufacture:	1973
Engine model:	Continental O-200-A
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	near Spanhoe Airfield, Laxton, near Corby, Northamptonshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Leicester Airport (EGBG)
Destination airport:	Peterborough/Sibson Airport (EGSP)
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
AAIB investigation to Bushby Midget Mustang, G-AWIR: Destroyed when crashed due to Loss of control and descent in to a wood near Spanhoe Airfield, Laxton, near Corby, Northamptonshire, 21 July 2019. The incident was the subject of an AAIB Investigation, published on 13 December 2019, and the following is an extract from the AAIB Report:

"Synopsis
The pilot overflew the airfield to assess conditions before deciding whether to land. During the pull-up and bank that followed, the aircraft departed controlled flight and descended in to a nearby wood. The pilot was seriously injured, and the aircraft was destroyed.

History of the flight
The pilot was flying from Leicester Airfield to Sibson Airfield and on the way, he flew over Spanhoe Airfield to check the windsock and decide whether he was going to land there to visit friends. He flew overhead at approximately 600 to 700 ft and then pulled up and banked left. The next thing he remembers is hitting the tree canopy. The pilot sustained serious injuries and the aircraft was destroyed"

AAIB: Conclusion
It seems most likely that the final manoeuvre increased the aircraft’s stall speed to, or beyond the aircraft’s airspeed which caused it to stall and the pilot to lose control of the aircraft with limited height available to recover before the aircraft struck the trees.

Damage to airframe
Per the AAIB Report "aircraft destroyed". As a result, the registration G-AWIR was cancelled by the CAA (with the airframe being de-registered) on 19 March 2020

1. AAIB Final Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f4530cce90e074c539812ca/Midget_Mustang_G-AWIR_12-19.pdf
2. https://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/crime/downed-plane-images-show-lucky-escape-of-pilot-near-corby-1-9006222
3. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-49064873
4. https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/people/pilot-suffers-leg-injuries-but-survives-light-aircraft-crash-near-corby-1-9006175
5. Aircraft identified from the photo in the Northampton Telegraph: https://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/crime/downed-plane-images-show-lucky-escape-of-pilot-near-corby-1-9006222
6. https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2019-07-21/pilot-airlifted-to-hospital-following-northamptonshire-light-aircraft-crash/
7. https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/pilots-miracle-escape-after-plane-16624698
8. https://www.northants.police.uk/news/northants/news/news/2019/july-19/man-injured-in-corby-light-aircraft-crash/
9. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-50780832
10. G-AWIR History 1973-1977: https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AWIR.pdf
11. https://airport-data.com/aircraft/G-AWIR.html
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Spanhoe#Civil_use

Completed 1973: Some sources state construction began eight years earlier in 1965-66. First registered in the UK as G-AWIR on 30 April 1968 to the 1st owner while still under construction. (Although, as stated, G-AWIR did not make its first flight until 1973). Sold on to the 2nd owner on 8 August 1977 (after being temporarily de-registered for 11 days, between 28 July and 8 August 1977).

Sold on to the 3rd owner 10 November 2008 (31 years later), moving to the 4th owner on 14 June 2010, the 5th owner on 23 March 2015, and then the sixth (and, as events turned out, final) owner on 14 December 2017.

As the aircraft was completely destroyed in the incident near Spanhoe, Northamptonshire on 21 July 2019, the registration G-AWIR was cancelled by the CAA (with the airframe being de-registered) on 19 March 2020.

At Old Warden in Oct 2018

Wreckage of G-AWIR on 21 July 2019 (bottom right picture)

AAIB December bulletin publishedhttps://t.co/CwFXUSvnWA pic.twitter.com/ACpTRFdV6R

— AAIB (@aaibgovuk) 13 December 2019

A pilot has been taken to hospital after a light aircraft crashed near #Corby. The single-seater plane came down in woodland close to Spanhoe airfield, near Laxton, at around 3.25pm today, Sunday, July 21. Read more: https://t.co/bUnnHiS3pQ

— Northants Police (@NorthantsPolice) July 21, 2019

Incident 21/07/2019 15:32 Assisting @NorthantsPolice with light aircraft crash #Spanhoe

— NorthantsFire (@northantsfire) July 21, 2019

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
21-Jul-2019 18:19	gerard57	Added
21-Jul-2019 18:53	RobertMB	Updated [Location, Phase, Source, ]
22-Jul-2019 07:49	RobertMB	Updated [Source, ]
22-Jul-2019 14:40	ANON	Updated [Registration, Cn, Source, ]
22-Jul-2019 14:41	harro	Updated [Aircraft type, ]
22-Jul-2019 15:03	RobertMB	Updated [Source, ]
24-Jul-2019 22:56	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Phase, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ]
24-Jul-2019 22:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative, ]
25-Jul-2019 12:14	Anon.	Updated [Photo, ]
13-Dec-2019 20:27	harro	Updated [Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Accident report, ]
14-Dec-2019 00:11	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Departure airport, Embed code, ]
15-Dec-2019 19:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Embed code, ]
04-Sep-2024 06:00	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, Category, ]