Date:	Sunday 20 July 1930
Time:	14:00
Type:	de Havilland DH.60 Moth
Owner/operator:	Ivor Herbert McLure
Registration:	G-EBUR
MSN:	446
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Detling, 3 miles North East of Maidstone, Kent -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Hamble, Hampshire
Destination airport:	Detling, near Maidstone, Kent

Narrative:
DH.60X G-EBUR: Written off (destroyed) when crashed whilst performing a low loop at Detling, Kent 20.7.30: Plunged into the ground at Detling, three miles north-east of Maidstone, Kent. According to a report in a contemporary local newspaper (Dundee Evening Telegraph - Monday 21 July 1930):

"TWO DEATHS IN CRASH
W.G.'S GRAND-DAUGHTER KILLED
"It All Happened So Quickly"
Burned to death after looping the loop within sight of relatives, Miss Gladys Grace, the well-known airwoman, and grand-daughter of W.G. Grace, the cricketer, crashed to her death yesterday at Detling Aerodrome, near Maidstone.

Lieutenant S.E.H. Spencer, a naval officer stationed at Gosport, who was piloting the 'plane, was also killed.

Miss Grace and Lieutenant Spencer had flown from Hamble Aerodrome, Hampshire, to lunch at Chatham with Paymaster-Commander Roger. E. Worthington, Miss Grace's brother-in-law, and his wife.

In the afternoon they all went on to Detling. Mrs. Worthington gave a graphic account of the tragedy to a reporter. "I had driven Miss Grace and Lieut. Spencer to the aerodrome and was entering my car to go back when the machine crashed

LOOPED THE LOOP
"They had just risen from the aerodrome, which is really just an emergency landing ground. They circled around once, looped the loop, and were looping for a second time, when the machine suddenly dived into the ground.

"They were not very high up at the time. There was a terrific crash and huge sheets of flame burst from the wrecked machine. I ran forward at once but the flames and the terrific heat kept me from getting near the aeroplane. In a few minutes it had burnt out altogether.

"Miss Grace and Lieut. Spencer spent the afternoon with us. They left us in great spirits and promised to come back shortly. It all happened so quickly. The one minute they were in the air, the next they were in flames on the ground. We did not have a chance to save them owing to the tremendous flames."

Miss Grace was 26 and daughter of Admiral H. E. Grace. She was an enthusiastic airwoman and had a remarkable escape from death in March of this year when a light machine she was piloting crashed near Hamble after a 2,000 feet spiral dive.

Miss Grace had made a loop and according to onlookers she became involved in a spin. After falling 300 feet she made a brilliant but unsuccessful attempt to save herself from crashing. The machine was wrecked but Miss Grace escaped with injuries from which she soon made complete recovery.

Her sister, Miss Bessie Grace, now the wife of an officer in the Indian Army, crashed at the same spot in August 1928. An official of the Hampshire Aeroplane Club told a reporter that Lieut. Spencer had been a private aeroplane owner for about nine months.

Both Miss Grace and Lieut. Spencer possessed pilot's licenses, and were very keen flyers," he said, "Miss Grace's nerves were not affected in the slightest by her crash here in March. We were expecting them back here later in the day, but flying conditions became so bad that we tried to get through to the spot where we thought they would land in Kent to warn them not to return. The news of their deaths came as a terrible shock the other members of the club. They were both extremely well liked."

Registration G-EBUR cancelled 21.7.30 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawal from use of aircraft"

1. Dundee Evening Telegraph - Monday 21 July 1930
2. Report on pilot's funeral: Sheffield Independent - Friday 25 July 1930
3. The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Tuesday 22 Jul 1930 Page 9: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4100928
4. The Register News-Pictorial (Adelaide, SA) Tuesday 22 Jul 1930 Page 5: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/53802520
5. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/12/C170: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6576638
6. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-EBUR.pdf
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-E4.html
8. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=885.0
9. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1934.htm
10. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh60.pdf
11. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p004.html
12. http://www.patriotfiles.com/archive/navalhistory/xDKCas1930.htm
13. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/archive/Archive_1980.pdf
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detling

c/no 446: DH.60X [Cirrus II #52]: registered G-EBUR [C of R 1499] 18.10.27 to Captain Ivor Herbert McClure, Stag Lane; replacement for G-EBRU (and used some parts including the engine from that aircraft). C of A 1230 issued 19.10.27. Two European tours in 1928; McClure became head of Aviation Dept of the Automobile Association 5.28 and Moth operated by them as the "AA Moth"; flown also by O.J. Tapper. Sold (but not re-registered) 6.30 to Lieutenant S.E.H Spencer, Hamble, Hampshire

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
19-Dec-2013 23:13	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]
29-Aug-2017 15:48	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
30-Jun-2019 14:20	Sergey L.	Updated [Source]
23-Feb-2020 22:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
12-May-2020 16:07	TB	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
16-Jul-2022 22:48	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, Category]
19-Nov-2023 08:08	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, Category]
29-Mar-2024 10:30	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]