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Date: | Friday 26 April 1940 |
Time: | 07:45 |
Type: | Short S.16 Scion 2 |
Owner/operator: | Arabian Airways |
Registration: | G-AEIL |
MSN: | PA.1003 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Mukeiras (Mukayras) Abyan Governorate -
Yemen
|
Phase: | Take off |
Nature: | Private |
Departure airport: | Mukeiras, Abyan Governorate, Aden |
Destination airport: | |
Narrative:First regsitered [C of R 7006] on 11.5.36 as G-AEIL to R.J.B Seaman, Plymouth. Sold on and re-regsitered to Pobjoy Airmotors & Aircraft Ltd., Rochester, Kent. Sold on and re-regsiterd [C of R 8376] on 4.3.38 to Arabian Airways Ltd., London SE.1 (aircraft based at Khormaksar, Aden)
Antonin Besse owned Arabian Airways Ltd. Following closure of Arabian Airways he kept the only remaining aircraft, a Short Scion, which he used for trips to Mukeiras. (Mukayras - in Arabic مكيراس - is a town and Directorate in Abyan Governorate in Aden). Returning from such a trip on April 26th 1940, the plane crashed on takeoff and Mr. Besse suffered life-threatening, spinal injuries. He was taken to hospital where he was fitted with a full body cast; most uncomfortable in the oppressive Aden heat. He was transported to France where he spent several months convalescing at his 'Le Paradou' property. His wife, Madame Hilda Besse was also on board.
Registration G-AEIL belatedly cancelled by the Air Ministry post war - on 4.1.46 - due to "destruction or permanent withdrawl form use of aircraft". A note on the aircraft's record card states "(Census 1945)"; which indicates that the Air Ministry were only made aware of the demise of G-AEIL after a return from the last registered owners, in response to the Air Ministry's 1945 census into the existence (or not) of all UK-registered pre-war civil aircraft
Sources:
1. Family photo album of Antonin Besse
2.
http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/15-aeroplanes/79-register-gb-g-ae 3.
http://www.orpheusweb.co.uk/vicsmith/OldAccs/Apr40.html 4.
https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AEIL.pdf 5.
http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A8.html Images:
Taken 26th April 1940 immediately after the crash. Photo provided by Mr Antonin Besse (Jnr) who gave authority to Peter Pickering for it's use.
Mukeiras, Yemen, 26th April 1940
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
27-Sep-2008 01:00 |
ASN archive |
Added |
11-Jun-2010 00:00 |
adenairways |
Updated [Date, Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
11-Jun-2010 00:46 |
adenairways |
Updated [[Date, Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]] |
22-Apr-2013 00:48 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Cn, Source] |
22-Apr-2013 00:53 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
06-May-2014 17:01 |
TB |
Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Total occupants, Destination airport, Source] |
30-Apr-2016 07:21 |
Anon. |
Updated [Location] |
24-Jan-2018 23:35 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Total occupants, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |