Date:	Saturday 1 November 1930
Time:	morning
Type:	de Havilland DH.60G Moth
Owner/operator:	Douglas Henry Corsellis
Registration:	G-AAEI
MSN:	993
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware, Middlesex -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware, Middlesex
Destination airport:	Mousehold Heath, Norwich, Norfolk

Narrative:
c/no. 993: DH.60G [Gipsy I] registered as G-AAEI [C of R 1870] 4.2.29 to Douglas Henry Corsellis, Nayland, Suffolk. Aircraft based at Stag Lane, Edgware, Middlesex, and Mousehold Heath, Norwich, Norfolk. C of A 1839 issued 25.2.29.

Written off 1.11.1930 when crashed and destroyed by fire when hit the perimeter fence while taking off in fog and caught fire, at Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware, Middlesex. On takeoff from Stag Lane, the pilot encountered poor visibility due to foggy conditions. At low level, the airplane collided with the perimeter fence and crashed, bursting into flames while attempting to land back at Stag Lane. The pilot/owner Douglas Henry Corsellis (aged 34, and the sole person on board) killed. As per the headline in the New York Times (2 November 1930):

"LONDON BARRISTER DIES AS PLANE BURNS;
Douglas Corsellis Crashes in Take Off in Dense Fog from Stag Lane Airdrome."

Note that, despite some published sources, Moth G-AAEI and its pilot were on their way TO Norwich from Stag Lane, not the other way around. As confirmed in the Singapore Free Press article (see link #1)

"TRAGIC BREAKFAST WAIT
London Nov.1
The barrister Mr. Douglas Henry Corsellis, who was killed at Stag Lane Aerodrome this morning, was in the habit of flying his own Moth 'plane to spend weekends with his family at his country house in Suffolk

He delayed his start today owing to fog. Realising that the light was too bad, he tried to land [back at Stag Lane Aerodrome] but struck a fence, and was killed by fire from his burning machine. His wife and children were actually waiting for him to join them at breakfast time"

Born in Nutfield, Surrey, England on 17 May 1896 to Henry Nicholas Corsellis and Ellen Letitia Bayly. Douglas Henry Corsellis married Helen Mary Bendall and had 2 children. He passed away on 1 Nov 1930 in Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware, Middlesex, England.

Registration G-AAEI cancelled by/on 2.12.30

1. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, 28 November 1930, Page 3: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singfreepressb19301128-1.2.12
2. New York Times 2 November 1930: https://www.nytimes.com/1930/11/02/archives/london-barrister-dies-as-plane-burns-douglas-corsellis-crashes-in.html
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/12/C179: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6576647
4. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf
5. https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AAEI.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A.html
7. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/gb-registers-g-aa/g-aa-part-1?highlight=WyJnLWFhZWkiXQ==
8. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1934.htm
9. https://air-britain.com/members/mo-pdfs/Crashes_in_Central_South.pdf
10. https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/douglas-henry-corsellis-24-15w1h5
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stag_Lane_Aerodrome#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
03-Nov-2017 19:27	Dr. John Smith	Added
17-Apr-2018 18:52	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
16-Nov-2023 18:44	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Phase, Source, Narrative, Category]
20-Nov-2023 17:21	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]