Date:	Friday 26 July 1957
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.115 Vampire T Mk 11
Owner/operator:	CFS RAF
Registration:	WZ574
MSN:	15152
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Shellingford, 2 miles ESE of Faringdon, Oxfordshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.115 Vampire T.Mk 11 WZ574: Delivered 27/5/1953. Operational service career was with 226 OCU, RAF Stradishall, and the CFS (Central Flying School), RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire

Written off 26/7/1957: The aircraft was put into a spin by the student pilot, as instructed, then recovery action from the spin was initiated. When the recovery action proved to be ineffective, the QFI Instructor Pilot then took control, but was also unable to recover the aircraft from the spin. Both crew then ejected, albeit with some difficulty, and parachuted down to the ground safely and uninjured. The aircraft came down near Shellingford, two miles east-south-east of Faringdon, Oxfordshire.

It is believed that the crew did not recognize that the aircraft was in an inverted spin, because they were disorientated. Also this particular aircraft had a history of "unusual" spinning characteristics

Crew of Vampire WZ574:
Flight Lieutenant R.M.Agate, RCAF (QFI Instructor Pilot, aged 35)
Lieutenant G.W.Barras, RN (Pupil Pilot Under training,aged 26)

Flight Lieutenant R.M.Agate was an "A1" Category Flying Instructor, and Lieutenant G.W.Barras went on to have a long career in the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, finally retiring on 11/6/1981 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander (see link #9)

The reported crash location of Shellingford (historically also spelt Shillingford) is a village and civil parish about 2 1⁄2 miles (4 km) south-east of Faringdon in the Vale of White Horse in Oxfordshire, England. (At approximate coordinates 51.640°N 1.542°W). It was part of the County of Berkshire until the 1974 Local Government Act transferred it to Oxfordshire.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.191 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 109)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.210
4. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1957.htm
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH115%20prodn%20list.txt
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WZ
7. http://www.planetrace.co.uk/1950-1959_26.html
8. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh115.pdf
9. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/48633/supplement/7791/data.pdf
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellingford

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-Mar-2013 14:37	Dr. John Smith	Added
20-Nov-2018 16:01	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Nature, Operator]
10-Jan-2020 18:57	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
08-Aug-2020 18:35	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
08-Aug-2020 18:37	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
08-Aug-2020 18:40	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Narrative]
08-Aug-2020 18:43	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
08-Aug-2020 20:05	stehlik49	Updated [Operator, Operator]
10-Aug-2020 00:51	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]