ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 231340
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| Date: | Sunday 7 September 1947 |
| Time: | 17:00 |
| Type: | Miles M.14A Hawk Trainer Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | Fairey Aviation Co Ltd |
| Registration: | G-AHYK |
| MSN: | 868 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Up Park, South Harting, near Chichester, West Sussex, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Somerton Airport, Cowes, Isle of Wight |
| White Waltham Airfield, Maidenhead, Berkshire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Ex-RAF Miles Magister N3822 (former RAF serial used as c/no. in place of the official Miles Aircraft c/no.868). First civil registered (C of R 10456/1; C of A 8207) 12.7.46 to the Fairey Aviation Co Ltd., Hayes, Middlesex.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) 7.9.47 when crashed at South Harting, West Sussex. Further details of the incident were found in the National Archives at Kew (File BT217/2038) and a contemporary local newspaper ("West Sussex Gazette" - Thursday 18 September 1947)
"During the early afternoon of 7th September 1947, Peter Grant had flown Miles Hawk G-AHYK from White Waltham to Cowes, Isle of Wight, with Charles Dizeray as a passenger. Grant was aged 35 and a member of the Fairey Flying Club, and had only recently gained his 'A' licence and had a total of just over 12 hours dual and 11 hours solo, and had never been instructed in cross-country flying. Dizeray was a fellow member of the Club, with 2 hours solo to his credit but no 'A' licence. They set off on the return flight at around 16.30 hours.
A little before 17.00 hours a gamekeeper at Up Park, South Harting (Sussex) heard an aircraft circling overhead. There was thick mist at the time and visibility at ground level was not more than 200 yards. A few minutes later the gamekeeper noted that the sound of the aircraft ceased and, at almost the same moment, heard a distant thud. Thinking that the sound came from too far away to concern him he took no action and it was not until early the next morning that he came across the wreckage of the Hawk about a mile from his cottage. The aircraft had been completely destroyed by fire and both occupants were dead.
Inspection at the scene of the accident showed that the aircraft had struck the ground at a shallow angle and low rate of descent - fire had destroyed all apart from the ferrous parts of the airframe and engine. The disposition of the wreckage was consistent with the aircraft having been in a flat spin to port when it struck - a detailed examination wasn't possible due to the destruction, but there was no evidence to suggest any pre-crash defect.
It was decided that the accident was the result of loss of control by an inexperienced pilot when flying in conditions of poor visibility. The pilot's flying experience was regarded as being insufficient to enable him to appreciate the hazards involved in attempting to fly from Cowes to White Waltham under the prevailing weather conditions."
Registration G-AHYK cancelled by the Secretary of State, Air Ministry 15.3.48 as "crashed". The reported crash location of South Harting is a village within Harting civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies on the B2146 road, 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Petersfield in Hampshire.
Sources:
1. West Sussex Gazette - Thursday 18 September 1947
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) BT 217/2038: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C576192
3. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AHYK.pdf
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Harting
5. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=765.0
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Dec-2019 21:10 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 26-Mar-2020 20:24 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 09-May-2023 19:29 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [[Time, Cn, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]] |
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