Date:	Sunday 11 September 1955
Time:	day
Type:	Auster AOP.6
Owner/operator:	1969 Flt/664 Sqn RAF
Registration:	TW582
MSN:	2454
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Stewart Shields, Otterburn, Northumberland -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Otterburn, Northumberland
Destination airport:	Otterburn, Northumberland
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Auster TW582, 1969 Flight/664 AOP Squadron, crashed 11th September 1955 at Stewart Shields, Otterburn, Northumberland. The aircraft was making a pass over a small airstrip when it appeared to stall and crash, sadly killing the pilot.

664(AOP) Squadron were on detachment from RAF Hucknall to take part in artillery shoots over the Otterburn range during the month of August 1955, which ran over into early September.

On 11th September 1955 Lieutenant Anthony Michael Bates (aged 24, Service Number 426578) was returning from one of the shoots when he buzzed the small airstrip from which he was operating. Lieutenant Bates climbed away steeply until approximately 100ft above the ground when he commenced a steep climbing turn to port. Suddenly the nose dropped and the aircraft went into a steep dive from which it failed to recover. The aircraft crashed close to the airfield but did not explode or catch fire, sadly Lieutenant Bates was killed on impact.

The crash was subject to an investigation and the main cause being a stall whilst flying at a height of 150/200ft. The contributory cause was the pilot commencing a turn in a steep climb.

Per a report at the time from Flight International: "We regret to learn of the death, in a flying accident on September 11th, of Mr. Anthony Michael Bates, B.A. (Cantab.), Lieut. T.A., R.A., son of Mr. F. Bates,managing director of Auster Aircraft, Ltd. The accident occurred at Otterburn, Northumberland, during a Territorial Army training flight. A keen pilot, Lt. Bates took a major part in the intensive flying trials of the Auster A.O.P.9."

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.169 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain 1985 p 53)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.154
4. Flight magazine September 1955: https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1955/1955
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?6333-Flt-Lt-Richard-Vere-Potts-(128004)/page2
6. http://austerhg.org/prod_list/pages.php?page=2349
7. http://www.neaviationresearch.org.uk/Losses/Losses-PostWWII.htm
8. https://acia.co.uk/1955/09/11/auster-tw582/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-May-2008 11:10	ASN archive	Added
03-Jul-2008 02:01	Anon.	Updated
28-Feb-2012 20:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative]
02-Mar-2012 06:37	Nepa	Updated [Operator]
10-May-2020 01:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
10-May-2020 09:33	AlLach	Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator]
27-May-2020 16:15	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]