ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 27635
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| Date: | Saturday 11 May 1935 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Spartan Cruiser Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | Commercial Air Hire Ltd |
| Registration: | G-ABTY |
| MSN: | 24M |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | English Channel, eight miles north-west of Le Treport -
 France
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Cargo |
| Departure airport: | Paris-Le Bourget, Paris, France |
| Croydon Airport, Croydon, Surrey (EGCR) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Spartan 6-seater; later Cruiser Mk I. First Registered as G-ABTY [C of R 3609] 9.2.32 to Spartan Aircraft Ltd., East Cowes, Isle of Wight First flown in May 1932. C of A 3559 issued 16.8.32. European Sales tour 14-25.10.32. Transferred to Spartan Air Lines Ltd, East Cowes, Isle of Wight 12.4.33; registered 5.34 to them.
Sold 1.35 and registered [C of R 5608] 8.2.35 to The Hon Mrs Victor Bruce, Cobham, Surrey; operated by Commercial Air Hire Ltd, Croydon Airport, Croydon, Surrey.
Written off (destroyed) 11.5.35: The crew was performing a cargo flight from Paris-Le Bourget to Croydon with a load of newspapers on board. While overflying The Channel, all three engines lost power and crew decided to reduce his altitude and elected to ditch the aircraft, English Channel, eight miles north-west of Le Treport, France. Both occupants were quickly rescued by the crew of a fishing vessel while the aircraft sunk and was lost. A contemporary newspaper report gives a further account of the incident ("Western Morning News" - Monday 13 May 1935):
"SAVED FROM SEA
Airmen Rescued After 'Plane Crashed In Channel
After a day of anxiety, Flight-Lieut. J. B. W. Pugh, of Haslemere, Surrey, and Mr. R. F. Burgess, of St. Leonard's-road. Hove, Sussex, pilot and wireless operator respectively of a freight aeroplane which came down in the Channel eight miles north-west of Le Treport on Saturday, are reported safe, having been picked by the fishing vessel Ave Maria, from Port en Bessin.
The 'plane, which was in the service of the Commercial Air Hire Company, was returning empty to Croydon after carrying an early morning load of newspapers to Paris, when engine trouble forced it down into the sea.
Four minutes after it had left the French coast the 'plane sent out the radio S.O.S. of the air.
Capt. Hattersley, a fellow-pilot of Flt-Lieut. Pugh set out at once from Croydon in a twin-engined air liner, and circled the Treport district for nearly three hours. He landed at Calais, refuelled, and then continued his search.
The two Imperial Airways liners Horatius and Heracles, travelling between London and Paris, also circled near the scene, and Capt. Olley, in a liner from Paris, spent an hour searching.
Five minutes after the two men were rescued the 'plane sank.
Flight-Lieut. J. B. W. Pugh and Wireless Operator R. F. Burgess arrived at Newhaven yesterday by the night boat, and proceeded to Croydon to report.
Flt.-Lieut Pugh told a "Western Morning News" representative: "I did not even get my feet wet. Burgess and I were on the 'plane about three minutes before the French trawler came up."
Registration G-ABTY cancelled by the Air Ministry 7.6.35 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawl from use of aircraft"
Sources:
1. El Litoral 11 May 1935, page 1
2. Western Morning News - Monday 13 May 1935
3. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-ABTY.pdf
4. http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/airfields/net.html
5. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-spartan-cruiser-i-channel
6. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/15-aeroplanes/76-register-gb-g-ab
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A3.html
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartan_Cruiser
9. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=15818.0
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 04-Nov-2012 05:44 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 31-Mar-2017 17:43 | TB | Updated [Total occupants, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 30-Sep-2017 20:59 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Total occupants, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Dec-2017 21:30 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Nov-2019 16:01 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 08-Mar-2020 23:12 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Country, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Mar-2020 23:15 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-Jan-2022 11:32 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type] |
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