Date:	Sunday 25 January 1948
Time:	day
Type:	Taylorcraft Auster Plus D
Owner/operator:	William Horace Ledbetter
Registration:	G-AGZN
MSN:	178
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Rearsby, Charnwood, Leicestershire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Rearsby, Charnwood, Leicestershire
Destination airport:	Walsall Airport, Walsall, Staffordshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Originally built as the prototype Model E (Auster AOP.III) with Gipsy Major installation, and delivered as such to the A&AEE at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire on 27/10/42. Thereupon it seemed to spend much of its time between Boscombe Down and Rearsby; to Rearsby 4/12/42, back to Boscombe Down 17/12/ 42, Rearsby (again) 30/4/43, Boscombe Down 16/5/43.

On 17/6/43 it was despatched to 20 MU RAF Aston Down, Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire for storage, but later, on 13/9/43, it was flown to Rearsby for conversion to Auster AOP.1 standard, returning to 20 MU Aston Down on 4/12/ 43 where it remained stored there until 1/12/45 when transferred to 5 MU RAF Kemble, Gloucestershire for disposal. On 11/1/46, LB319 was struck off charge and was sold to Brockhouse Ltd., of West Bromwich.

Became G-AGZN on 23/1/1946 (C of R 6865/1; C of A 7415) with registered owner John Leslie Brookhouse, West Bromwich, Staffordshire. Aircraft's registered "home port" (usual base) was Walsall Airport, Staffordshire.

Sold on and re-registered (C of R 6865/2) 20/7/46 to Willam Horace Ledbetter, Erdington, Birmingham (remained based at Walsall Airport).

Written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed into a pylon near Rearsby, Charnwood, Leicestershire on 25/1/1948. Registration G-AGZN cancelled as "destroyed" 25/1/1948

1. British Civil Aircraft Registers 1919-1999.
Compiled by Michael Austen
Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. 1999.
ISBN 0 85130 281 5
2. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AGZN.pdf
3. http://britishaviation-ptp.com/auster1.html
4. Auster Quarterly Vol. 1 No.2 (Summer 1975): https://austerhg.org/auster_mags/Auster%20Quarterly%20Volume%201%20Number%202.pdf p.46
5. http://ws-clave.deviantart.com/art/Auster-I-651-Sqn-1-145217757
6. http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.aviation.military/2007-03/msg01984.html

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-May-2008 11:10	ASN archive	Added
22-Jan-2010 23:19	John Baker	Updated [Country, Source, Narrative]
23-Jan-2010 10:51	John Baker	Updated [Location]
10-Dec-2012 11:20	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]