Date:	Tuesday 12 November 1946
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH103 Hornet F Mk 1
Owner/operator:	TDU FAA RN
Registration:	PX229
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	1 mile north of Charterhouse, Mendip Hills, Somerset -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Ferry/positioning
Departure airport:	RAE Farnborough, Hampshire
Destination airport:	RAF Locking, Weston Super Mare
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Hornet F1 PX229: Written off (destroyed) Flew into high ground in bad visibility one miles north of Charterhouse, Mendip Hills, Somerset 12.11.46. Pilot killed

The aircraft, which was serving with Boscombe Down, crashed on a transit flight to the TDU (Torpedo Development Unit) at RAF Locking, Weston Super Mare. The aircraft was flying in cloud and clipped trees, causing it to crash into the hillside on the opposite side of a valley. The pilot was thrown clear but sadly was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pilot:
Lieutenant Commander Thomas Bentley FAA RN - killed 12.11.46. Buried at Haslar Royal Naval Cemetery, Portsmouth

The pilot was officially attached to HMS Daedalus, the Royal Naval Air Station at Lee on Solent, Hampshire. In 2011, there were local press reports that an attempt was being undertaken to recover some wreckage (see links #8 & #9)

1. Wings Over Somerset: Aircraft Crashes Since the End of World War II by Peter Forrester at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wings-over-somerset-peter-forrester/1110841589
2. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-PZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.245
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH103%20prodn%20list.txt
6. https://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1946-09SEP.htm
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2438286/bentley,-thomas-george/
8. https://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/rare-plane-found-in-charterhouse-1-977794
9. https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/111076-licenced-recovery-of-dh-hornet-px229?page=0
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charterhouse,_Somerset

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
15-Jun-2018 06:17	Nepa	Added
16-Aug-2018 10:50	angels one five	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Narrative]
18-Nov-2019 02:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
05-Feb-2021 16:46	v	Updated [Operator, Location, Operator]