Date:	Sunday 14 July 1929
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.60 Moth
Owner/operator:	Australian Aero Club (South Australia Section)
Registration:	G-AUAM
MSN:	364
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Parafield Airport, 18 Km (11 miles) North of Adelaide, SA -   Australia
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Parafield Airport, Adelaide, South Australia (YPPF)
Destination airport:	Parafield Airport, Adelaide, South Australia (YPPF)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
DH.60 [Cirrus I] sold to Commonwealth of Australia without C of A. Registered as G-AUAM 26.11.27 to Dept of Defence, Civil Aviation Branch, and operated by Australian Aero Club, South Australia Section, Parafield. Crashed on landing Parafield 19.2.29; rebuilt with new fuselage and fitted with Cirrus II engine. Re-registered as VH-UAM 28.3.29; however, the revised registration may not have been applied to the airframe.

Written off when spun in and crashed at Parafield Airport, 18 Km (11 miles) North of Adelaide, South Australia 14.7.29; pilot Leslie Napier Birks killed. Registration cancelled 12.11.29. The accident was reported in the Bunyip Gawler (Bunyip, Vic.) on Friday 19 July 1929 (see link #1) as follows:

"FATAL AIR CRASH AT PARAFIELD.
Visitors to the Parafield aerodrome on Sunday were stricken with horror when they witnessed a plane out of control crashing headlong to the earth, about a mile away on the eastern side of the drome. Parafield has been a most popular rendezvous for motorists, particularly on Sundays, its immunity from air accidents causing public support of huge dimensions, and on Sunday fully 600 people saw the accident which took its toll as the life of the airman, a pupil pilot member of the S.A. Aero Club, Mr. Leslie Napier Birks, aged 24 years, eldest son of Mr. Napier Birks of Birks Limited, Adelaide

This pilot cadet had made a solo flight earlier in the afternoon, and on the second flight was practising landing and taking off, necessary performances towards his pilot's licence. He was consequently flying low to the ground, and when flying away from the drome sought to turn sharply, when at about 300 feet altitude. The Moth spun steeply towards the earth and crashed.

Capt. Hugh Grosvenor, A.D.C. to the Governor, who was flying near to Mr. Birks, immediately sensed trouble, and speedily landed, and was the first to render assistance, followed by two motorists off' the Gawler road. The pilot was unconscious 'when pulled out of the wreckage, and died shortly afterwards. He suffered skull fracture, two broken legs and other injuries. The plane was reduced to matchwood, the propeller shattered, and the petrol tank burst. Fortunately, two police officers were at the aerodrome, and took charge, preventing the great mass of morbid curiosity seekers from crowding onto the tragedy.

The last fatal accident at Parafield - there have only been two - happened about two years ago when Flight Lieut. McIntyre, instructor to the club, was killed through the machine crashing when he was doing solo stunting. An inquiry is to be made into the cause of Mr. Birks' death."

1. Bunyip Gawler (Bunyip, Vic.) Friday 19 July 1929 Page 6 FATAL AIR CRASH AT PARAFIELD: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/96663262
2. Observer (Adelaide, SA) Sat 20 Jul 1929 Page 42 Young Adelaide Pilot Killed on Parafield Crash AERO CLUB PLANE SPINS INTO GROUND FROM 300 FEET: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/164895800
3. News (Adelaide, SA) Monday 15 Jul 1929 Page 6 PARAFIELD TRAGEDY: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/129173706 (Report of Pilot's Funeral)
4. The Western Mail (Ceduna, SA) Friday 19 Jul 1929 Page 1 The Late Leslie Napier Birks: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/263688710 (Report of Pilot's Funeral)
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_VH-U.html
6. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-australian-register/g-au?highlight=WyJnLWF1YW0iXQ==
7. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60-moth-adelaide-1-killed-0
8. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf
9. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p003.html
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parafield_Airport#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
10-Jan-2014 22:14	Dr. John Smith	Added
30-Aug-2017 22:21	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
05-Nov-2018 15:09	Sergey L.	Updated [Source]
08-Jun-2022 00:22	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
17-Dec-2023 11:13	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]
18-Dec-2023 09:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]