ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 67708
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| Date: | Tuesday 11 July 1939 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Dunstable Kestrel |
| Owner/operator: | William Eric Godson |
| Registration: | BGA371 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Camphill, near Great Hucklow, Derbyshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Camphill, near Great Hucknall, Derbyshire |
| Camphill, near Great Hucknall, Derbydhire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
BGA 371: built by W.E.Godson. Not sure of the date of the first flight but it was first rigged at Camphill on the 3rd September 1938. During its construction, the shed in which it was being built caught fire, one wing was burnt, and had to be rebuilt.
Sadly the glider was written off and William Eric Godson killed when it spun in to the ground on the 11th July 1939 on approach to Camphill, near Great Hucklow, Derbyshire, where William Eric Godson was competing in the 1939 Nationals. According to a published account of the 1939 National Gliding Championships (see link #3)
"The 1939 Nationals at Camphill
The last Nationals held until post WW2, Sunday 9th to Sunday 16th July. This was not a good competition! Firstly the weather was poor, which is reflected in the total points for 1939 being 2797 as against 3312 in 1938 and 2924 in 1937, this despite the overall standard of pilotage being significantly better. Secondly, and very sadly, there were two fatalities.
The first fatal accident occurred on Tuesday 11th when W.E. Godson got into a spin over the site from which he could not recover. He was flying a Kestrel which he’d built from plans, it’s worth noting that all of the Wrens and Kestrels were prone to spinning if mishandled.
The second accident was on Saturday 15th when Frank Charles flying the prototype Slingsby Petrel could not release the winch cable and dived into the ground from 200 feet."
Sources:
1. http://www.glidingheritage.org.uk/documents/articles/Bill_Manuelv5.pdf
2. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1939.htm
3. http://www.glidingheritage.org.uk/documents/articles/HistoryBritishGlidingPart1v2.pdf
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Dec-2014 02:24 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Feb-2018 18:07 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 30-Mar-2018 17:00 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 30-Mar-2018 17:10 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Registration] |
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