Date:	Friday 16 April 1948
Time:
Type:	North American AT-16 Harvard T Mk 2B
Owner/operator:	41 Sqn RAF
Registration:	KF245
MSN:	14A-2046
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Whitley Bridge, Eggborough, near Selby, North Yorkshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Church Fenton, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Harvard KF245 (MSN 14A-2046): Written off (destroyed) 16-4-48 when crashed at Whitley Bridge, Eggborough, North Yorkshire
The aircraft took off from RAF Church Fenton, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, and had been airborne for 15 minutes when the engine failed due to the throttle linkage breaking. The aircraft then went out of control and spun into the ground; both crew were killed on impact

Crew of Harvard KF245:
P. II Frank Austin Wilkinson (pilot) RAF - killed
Michael Gaunt (passenger) - killed

The subsequent Board of Inquiry was unable to determine the cause of the loss of control after the engine failure.

Whitley is a village in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, close to the Aire and Calder Navigation and the M62 motorway. It was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.154 ISBN 0-85130-290-4
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.386
3. The Harvard File (John F Hamlin, Air Britain, 1988 p 116)
4. ORB 41 Sqdn RAF: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2413/102: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8439233
5. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/145684170/michael-gaunt
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._41_Squadron_RAF#Post_War,_1946%E2%80%932006
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitley,_North_Yorkshire

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
24-Apr-2023 18:20	Dr. John Smith	Added