Date:	Wednesday 31 December 1952
Time:	night
Type:	Airspeed Oxford Mk I
Owner/operator:	9 AFTS RAF
Registration:	MP287
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Temple Guiting,14 miles NE of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Thorney Island, Emsworth, Hampshire
Destination airport:	RAF Wellesbourne Mountford, Warwickshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Airspeed Oxford MP287/PH, 9 AFTS, RAF: Delivered to 9 AFTS (Advanced Flying Training School), RAF 4 February 1952. Written off (destroyed) December 31, 1952: The pilot was completing a solo training mission from RAF Thorney Island, Emsworth, Hampshire to RAF Wellesbourne Mountford, Warwickshire.

En route, while cruising by night and marginal weather conditions, he lost control of the airplane, which was seen to turn sharply to starboard and crashed in a field located in Temple Guiting, about 14 miles north east of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

PIlot of Oxford MP287
Pilot Officer (4086031) Leonard John Thomas WATSON (pilot) RAF - killed in service 31/12/1952

Cause: It is believed that the loss of control was caused by an excessive accumulation of frost or ice on the aircraft during flight. The assumption that the pilot lost his orientation due to the accretion of ice on the windshield is not ruled out.

The reported crash location of Temple Guiting is a village and civil parish in the Cotswolds, in Gloucestershire, England. The civil parish includes the smaller settlements of Barton, Farmcote, Ford and Kineton, at approximate co ordinates 51°57′N 1°52′W

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.139 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 324
3. The Oxford, Consul & Envoy File (John F Hamlin, Air Britain, 2001 p.176)
4. 9 AFTS ORB (Operational Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/12/1951 to 30/4/1954: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/2142/2 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7162853
5. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-airspeed-as10-oxford-t1-temple-guiting-1-killed
6. https://www.aviation-links.co.uk/Gloucestershire%20Aircraft%20Accidents.pdf
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Guiting

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
07-May-2012 05:30	dando	Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Damage]
26-Jul-2017 20:56	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
07-Jan-2020 23:26	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Source, Narrative]
08-Jan-2020 10:15	stehlik49	Updated [Operator, Nature, Operator]
09-Mar-2021 18:53	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
06-Apr-2021 15:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
06-Apr-2021 15:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Narrative]
07-Apr-2021 15:05	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Narrative]
07-Apr-2021 16:15	Dandy	Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator]