Date:	Sunday 7 February 1960
Time:	16:50 LT
Type:	Taylorcraft Auster AOP.V
Owner/operator:	Skyways Coach Air Ltd
Registration:	G-AKTF
MSN:	1443
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	English Channel, off Beachy Head, East Sussex. -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Survey
Departure airport:	Lympne Airport, Lympne, Kent (LYM/EGMK)
Destination airport:	Lympne Airport, Lympne, Kent (LYM/EGMK)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Auster AOP.V: Ex-RAF TJ399. Known RAF service was with 655 Squadron, 666 Squadron, and 83 Group Communications Squadron. Struck off charge 29-5-47.

First civil registered (C of R 12192/1; C of A 10073) on 1-3-48 as G-AKTF to Lancashire Aircraft Corporation, Samlesbury Aerodrome, near Blackburn, Lancashire. Registration cancelled 9-11-50 as "placed in long term storage". Registration G-AKTF reinstated 9-2-51 (C of R 1595/2) to same owners (Lancashire Aircraft Corporation). Registration cancelled 28-9-56 upon sale.

Re-registered (C of R 1595/3) 26-4-57 to Skyways Ltd., London SW.1. Re-registered (C of R 1595/4) on 27-5-59 to Skyways Coach Air Ltd, London SW.1 (same owner, but change of name).

Written off (destroyed) 7-2-60 when crashed into the English Channel, off Beach Head, East Sussex. both person on board killed. The purpose of the flight was to photograph a ship at sea in the English Channel. The aircraft, which was not equipped with radio, carried fuel estimated as sufficient for between 2 1/4 and 2 1/2 hours flying and took off from Lympne at 14:45 hours. About 2 hours later it flew low near the ship to be photographed and at 16:50 hours was seen by another ship in the same area flying on a course that would take it towards the English coast. The body of one of the two occupants of the aircraft was later recovered from the sea. The other was never found, and was designated as having "died at sea"

According to a contemporary newspaper report (Birmingham Daily Post - Tuesday 9 February 1960)

"SEARCH FOR PLANE ENDED
An Air Ministry spokesman said last night that the search from the air for an Auster light plane missing over the English Channel since Sunday had ended.

Two Shackletons and a Whirlwind helicopter which had been patrolling off the Sussex coast had returned to their bases.

The plane was carrying two men. The body of one, John Kortens, aged 20, of Rosehill Avenue. Rhyl, was recovered by the Eastbourne lifeboat crew. Nothing has been seen of the pilot, Roger Exelby, who lived at Stanford, near Ashford, Kent.

The inquest on Kortens was opened at Eastbourne yesterday and adjourned for a month.

Edward E. Kortens, sales manager, of Victoria Avenue, Widnes, Lancashire, said that his brother, a photographer for Skyways Photos, qualified as an airline pilot only two weeks ago.

The Auster was airworthy in every respect but it did not carry operational radio. There were several messages received by the police which were inaccurate. The true records were held at Lympne. he said".

There are no reports that the body of the pilot, Roger Exelby, was ever found or recovered. Registration G-AKTF cancelled 27-4-60 as "destroyed"

1. Newcastle Evening Chronicle - Monday 8 February 1960
2. Daily Mirror - Monday 8 February 1960
3. Birmingham Daily Post - Tuesday 9 February 1960
4. Survey of accidents to aircraft in the United Kingdom 1960 / CAA
5. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985 p 43
6. http://www.ukserials.com/losses_civil.htm
7. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AKTF.pdf
8. http://austerhg.org/prod_list/pages.php?page=1329
9. http://blogs.wessexarch.co.uk/aircraftcrashsitesatsea/files/2008/03/aircraft_crash-sites_at_sea_report.pdf
10. http://austerhg.org/gallery3/Auster-1243594292/Model_J/G-AKTF-Mk5-xTJ399
11. https://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled/Auster-J-Mk5-Alpha/2112718
12. http://www.ukserials.com/losses_civil.htm

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-May-2008 11:10	ASN archive	Added
02-Dec-2012 06:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative]
27-May-2015 19:48	harro	Updated [Total fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
25-Feb-2020 13:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
25-Feb-2020 13:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
23-Jul-2020 17:07	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]