Date:	Friday 11 March 1955
Time:	morning
Type:	Hunting Percival Pembroke C Mk 1
Owner/operator:	Empire Test Pilots School (ETPS)
Registration:	WV698
MSN:	PAC/66/0001
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Smannell Road, 1 mile NE of Andover, Hampshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Test
Departure airport:	RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire
Destination airport:	Farnborough Airfield, Hampshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Percival Pembroke WV698: First prototype aircraft, first flown at Hunting Percival Aircraft at Luton 20/11/52. Written off (destroyed) 11/3/55.

Pembroke WV698 came to grief in a field near Smannell Road, one mile north-east of Andover late in the morning of 11th March, 1955. The aircraft, belonging to the Empire Test Pilots' School, had flown from Farnborough to Lyneham on a communication flight earlier the same day, but on the return journey the pilot informed Farnborough Control that his starboard engine was on fire. When asked the extent of the emergency he reported that he could not feather the propeller. He was told to continue his slow descent to which he replied that he was descending below cloud in case he had to belly-land. On being told to turn onto an approach heading, the pilot replied that he must get the aircraft down in a field as "he could do nothing about it". All contact was lost when WV698 was over Chilbolton.

Many eyewitnesses on the ground stated that in its last minute or so of flight over Andover the aircraft was on fire near the root of the starboard wing, with the flames reaching back as far as the tailplane. The pilot attempted a wheels up landing in a large field but, tragically, on approach the starboard wing tip struck a tree. The Pembroke slewed off course into a line of small trees and flipped over - all three occupants were killed in the impact and the fire that devoured the wreckage.

As reported in "The Times" newspaper (London) on March 12, 1955:

"THREE KILLED IN AIR CRASH
An R.A.F. pilot and his crew of two other officers were killed when a twin-engined Pembroke aircraft crashed near Andover, Hampshire. yesterday. With the starboard engine on fire. the pilot battled against a high wind over the town centre. He succeeded in turning the aircraft into the wind, and after passing over New Street at roof-top level it came down in flames on waterworks land.

The aircraft belonged to the Empire test pilots' school at Farnborough, Hampshire, and was flying there from Lyneham, Wiltshire. The officers who were killed were the pilot, Wing Commander K. J. Sewett, chief instructor at the school, Flight Lieutenant D. B. James, engineer officer; and Flying Officer J. C. Crouch."

Crew:
W/Cdr Kenneth James SEWELL AFC, DFM (pilot ETPS Chief Test Flying Instructor),
F/Lt (576764) David Benjamin JAMES DFM (Flight Engineer) RAF
F/O (4058985) Julian Charles CROUCH (pass.) RAF

Probable cause: Fire on right engine in flight.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.169 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 103)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.122
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/263: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424384
5. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/33/S2744: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578524
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WV
7. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-percival-p66-pembroke-c1-andover-3-killed
8. https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1271470/
9. https://www.deviantart.com/fighterman35/art/Percival-P-66-Pembroke-C-Mk-1-WV698-July-1953-659524470
10. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=5987.0
11. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=16951.0
12. https://www.flickriver.com/search/J.C.Crouch/
13. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=10108.0
14. The Times, March 12, 1955 at https://www.thetimes.co.uk/archive/article/1955-03-12/6/7.html?region=global

Air to air shot of Pembroke WV698 over Hampshire in 1954:

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
09-Mar-2010 13:44	TB	Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Source, Damage, Narrative]
09-Mar-2010 13:45	TB	Updated [Nature]
09-Mar-2010 14:04	TB	Updated [Aircraft type]
10-Mar-2010 01:29	TB	Updated [Cn]
05-Apr-2012 07:38	TB	Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
22-Apr-2012 16:46	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
05-Oct-2012 13:12	TB	Updated [Cn, Source, Narrative]
05-Oct-2012 13:24	TB	Updated [Date, Operator, Source]
20-Jun-2013 05:06	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Narrative]
22-Jun-2013 17:45	TB	Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative]
30-Oct-2013 15:17	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Departure airport, Source, Embed code]
12-Mar-2015 18:27	TB	Updated [Embed code]
04-Dec-2018 09:04	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]
16-Jan-2020 01:40	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
17-Jan-2020 14:30	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Operator]
16-Feb-2020 00:25	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative]
18-Feb-2020 11:57	Iwosh	Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Operator]
21-Feb-2020 14:23	Iwosh	Updated [Operator, Operator]
08-May-2020 20:08	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
19-Jul-2020 22:51	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative]
27-Jun-2022 11:57	Nepa	Updated [Location, Narrative, Operator]