Accident Auster J/1 Autocrat G-AGWZ,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 18189
 
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Date:Tuesday 20 May 1947
Time:17:15 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic J1 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Auster J/1 Autocrat
Owner/operator:Charles William Morrison (reg owner)
Registration: G-AGWZ
MSN: 1881
Fatalities:Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Location:Amisfield Mains, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland -   United Kingdom
Phase: Take off
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Amisfield Mains, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources
Narrative:
Crashed on 20/05/1947 during take-off at Amisfield Mains, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, and caught fire on impact with the ground: aircraft destroyed by fire. Pilot killed; passenger survived

Per a contemporary report in "Flight International" October 9 1947:

"'THE Chief Inspector of Accidents has reported on the accident to Auster G-AGWZ which occurred at Haddington, East Lothian, on May 20th, 1947. Mr. Morrison, the owner and pilot oi the aircraft, had arrived at Amisfield Farm about 14:15 hours on the day in question after a delivery flight from Brough. About three hours later he attempted, accompanied by a Mr. Seaman, to take off from the same field. The field allowed a take-off run of 360 yards on a surface which was firm and fairly even, but covered with thick, long, grass. During the take-off the aircraft had almost reached the far corner of the field when it rose about four feet and crashed into the top of the wall. It fell on to its back in the next field and burst into flames. Both occupants extricated themselves but Mr. Morrison died of burns.

The Inspector considered that the accident was the result of an attempt to take off from a small field in unfavourable conditions without using the flaps and that the pilot committed errors of judgment and flying technique which were attributable to his inexperience, and an inability to appreciate the hazards involved. It is understood from the report that since this accident, there have been three others under somewhat similar circumstances, i.e., light aircraft taking off from fields, and the attention of all pilots is drawn to the necessity of assessing carefully the prevailing conditions before attempting to take off"

Registration G-AGWZ cancelled by the UK Civil Aviation Authority as "crashed and destroyed by fire" on 20.5.47

Sources:

1. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT 217/1680: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C575834
2. Flight magazine October 9 1947 p 424: https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1947/1947%20-%201760.html?search=G-AGWZ
3. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AGWZ.pdf
4. http://britishaviation-ptp.com/auster_j1.html

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
17-May-2008 11:10 ASN archive Added
26-Dec-2011 05:07 Dr. John Smith Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]
26-Apr-2013 06:05 Dr. John Smith Updated [Time, Total occupants, Source, Narrative]
26-Apr-2013 06:06 Dr. John Smith Updated [Narrative]
22-Jul-2015 21:16 Dr. John Smith Updated [Operator, Source]
26-Nov-2019 00:05 Dr. John Smith Updated [Source]
16-May-2023 20:48 Dr. John Smith Updated [[Source]]

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