ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 192369
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| Date: | Saturday 15 February 1958 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Hirtenberg HS9A |
| Owner/operator: | Charles Henry Coomelli |
| Registration: | G-AGAK |
| MSN: | 001 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Butser Hill, SW of Petersfield, Hampshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Denham, Buckinghamshire (EGLD) |
| Portsmouth Aerodrome, Portsmouth, Hampshire (PME) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Built by Hirtenberger Patronen Zundhutchen und Metallwarenfabrik A.G at Hirtenberg, Austria in July 1937 for J H Davies as OE-DJH, arrived UK July 1939 as D-EDJH, British CofA issued 22 November 1939 as G-AGAK. Stored at Filton during the war, as all private civilian flying was banned in September 1939, until overhauled at Gatwick in 1946. Some of the subsequent owners between 1946 and 1958 were D. D. Budworth, Boxted, Essex, A. J. Stocks, J. E. Coxon, and C. H. Cosmelli of Denham
Written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed in fog at Butser Hill, South West of Petersfield, Hampshire 15 February 1958: the owner Charles Cosmelli tried to get back out of a cloud topped valley and wrote it off. The pilot escaped with cuts and bruises, but the aircraft was a write off. According to a contemporary newspaper report into the incident ("Harrow Observer" - Thursday 20 February 1958)
"WEMBLEY AND PINNER MEN IN AIR CRASH.
PLANE WRECKED : HIT HILL IN THICK MIST.
When their two-seater aircraft crashed into a thickly wooded hill on Saturday the Wembley Park pilot and the Pinner navigator crawled from the wreckage unaided. They were taken to hospital and soon after returned to their homes.
The pilot was Mr. C. A. Cosmelli, aged 46, of 12, Chalkhill Road, Wembley Park, and the navigator Mr. F. J. Moore, of 16, Moss Close, Pinner. Both are members of the Denham Aero Club and Mr. Cosmelli has been a pilot for 16 years. They were flying from Denham to Portsmouth.
The plane, an open-cockpit Hirtenberg, struck Buster Hill, near Petersfield, Hants., in thick mist. It was carrying 14 gallons of petrol but did not explode.
Mr. Cosmelli said on Tuesday : "I don't remember even now what happened before the crash. I regained consciousness when I was lying next to the aircraft. Two farm labourers and a policeman came and helped Mr. Moore to an ambulance waiting at the roadside. I walked ahead of them on my own feeling very dazed. I still do."
His replacement aircraft was Falco G-APUO which only lasted a year before being bent at Denham in 1960 (see separate entry)
Registration G-AGAK cancelled by the CAA on 10 March 1958 as "destroyed"
Sources:
1. Harrow Observer - Thursday 20 February 1958
2. History of G-AGAK 1939-1956: http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AGAK-1.pdf
3. History of G-AGAK 1956-1958: http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AGAK-2.pdf
4. https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1020163
5. http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/001148854.html
6. https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1512768
7. http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/hancrash.html
8. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=15286.0
9. http://airportofcroydon.com/Aircraft%2045.html
10. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dwhitworth/6337047052
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butser_Hill
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Dec-2016 15:00 | Alpine Flight | Added |
| 02-Jan-2017 15:11 | Alpine Flight | Updated [Country] |
| 21-Mar-2017 16:46 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Mar-2017 16:54 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 29-Feb-2020 22:11 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 29-Feb-2020 22:14 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 29-Feb-2020 22:20 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
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