Date:	Sunday 12 January 1930
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.60G Moth
Owner/operator:	Man Mohan Singh
Registration:	G-AAHF
MSN:	1051
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Noyon, Arrondissement of Compiègne, Oise Department -   France
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Croydon Airport, Croydon, Surrey (EGCR)
Destination airport:	Bombay (Mumbai), India
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
c/no 1051 DH.60G Auto-slot Moth [Gipsy I #506] registered as G-AAHF [C of R 1981] 21.5.29 to The Hon Henry Charles Hiley Bathurst, Lydney Park, Gloucestershire (aircraft based at Filton, Bristol, Gloucestershire). C of A 2044 issued 25.5.29. Sold to Merlyn Motors Ltd, Whitchurch, Bristol in December 1929. Sold (but apparently not re-registered) on or before January 1930 to Man Mohan Singh, Bristol; named "Miss India" 3.1.30 by Maharani of Cooch-Behar.

In November 1929, keen to promote aviation, the Aga Khan, 48th Imam of the Ismaili sect of Muslims announced a prize of £500 to the first Indian pilot who could fly solo between England and India. The contestants in 1930 included; J. R. D. Tata, who later founded Tata Motors and Air India, Aspy Engineer, who would later be appointed head of the Indian Air Force, Ram Nath Chawla, who was Engineer's friend, and Man Mohan Singh.

The Maharani of Cooch Bihar presided over the naming ceremony of Singh's aircraft, a Gipsy Moth he named "Miss India". It was fitted with an additional 20-gallon fuel tank in the front cockpit, making the aircraft a single-seater. Man Mohan Singh, a self-confessed poor navigator, had a map of India painted on its rudder because, he jokingly claimed, he frequently lost his way. One editor of a flight journal reported, "Mr Man Mohan Singh called his aeroplane Miss India and he is likely to!"

On 11 January 1930 Singh made his first attempt to fly to India. That day, he departed from Croydon Airport near London, but smashed his propeller when landing at Noyon, France, the following evening.

Airframe returned to Le Bourget for repairs & returned to Lympne, Ashford, Kent 25.1.30. Departed Lympne, Kent 25.1.30 for a second attempt to reach India; however, crashed into a hillside near Cosenza, near Naples, Calabria, Italy 3.2.30 & badly damaged; returned to England for more repairs (replaced by G-AASF for Man Moham Singh's third attempt for an England to India flight).

Possibly not repaired, as registration G-AAHF was cancelled 7.3.30 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawal from use of aircraft". This is probably related to the second crash in Italy on 3.2.30.

Noyon is a commune in the Oise department, northern France. Noyon lies on the river Oise, about 95 kilometers (60 mi) northeast of Paris. The Oise Canal and the Canal du Nord pass through the commune.

NOTE: As the aircraft was not formally re-registered to Man Moham Singh, most published sources incorrectly state that it was still with its former owner (The Hon Henry Charles Hiley Bathurst) and had crashed at Croydon Airport, Croydon, Surrey the previous day (11 January 1930)

1. England - India flight accomplished". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 12 May 1930. p. 1
2. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AAHF.pdf
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A.html
4. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/gb-registers-g-aa/g-aa-part-1?highlight=WyJnLWFhZHYiXQ==
5. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60g-moth-croydon
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_Mohan_Singh_(pilot)#The_Aga_Khan_contest
7. https://web.archive.org/web/20221116163438/http://www.australiansikhheritage.com/flying-officer-manmohan-singh/
8. https://ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh60.pdf
9. https://archive.org/details/Flight_International_Magazine_1930-01-10-pdf/page/n7/mode/2up?q=singh
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noyon

Naming ceremony of Moth G-AAHF as "Miss India": Manmohan Singh and Gipsy Moth Miss India with Maharanee of Cooch Behar Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware, Middlesex, England January 1930 Man Mohan Singh with DH.60 Moth G-AAHF at Croydon January 1930.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-Nov-2017 18:58	Dr. John Smith	Added
05-Nov-2017 18:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
23-Dec-2023 20:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date, Operator, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category]