ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 201200
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| Date: | Thursday 15 October 1936 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.60G Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Portsmouth Aero Club Ltd |
| Registration: | G-AAKN |
| MSN: | 1136 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Farlington Marshes, Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth, Hampshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Portsmouth Aerodrome, Portsmouth, Hampshire |
| Portsmouth Aerodrome, Portsmouth, Hampshire |
DH.60G [Gipsy I] registered G-AAKN [C of R 2103] 27.7.29 to Phillips & Powis Aircraft (Reading) Ltd, Woodley, Reading, Berkshire, and used for demonstration purposes. C of A 2133 issued 29.7.29. Sold [or loaned] 2.30 (but not re-registered) to Ferranti Ltd, Hollinwood, Lancashire [aircraft based at Barton]; used as personal aircraft by Sir Vincent Z de Ferranti and also for trials and experiments in navigation along a narrow radio beam. Badly damaged on landing at Barton 17.5.30. Ferranti's Gipsy Moth was the first aircraft to crash at Barton after the airfield's opening on 1 January 1930 when the Moth hit the boundary fence.
Re-registered [C of R 3313] 7.31 to Frederick E Clifford, Woodley, Reading, Berkshire. Registered [C of R 3555] 1.32 to The Hon Brian Lewis, t/a Brian Lewis & Co, Heston. Reportedly sold 6.32 (but not re-registered) to Flight Lt Francis L Luxmoore & Sir Charles Rose of Portsmouth, Southsea & Isle of Wight Aviation Ltd and operated by Portsmouth Aero Club; however, this is probably erroneous since the Portsmouth Aero Club was only formed in 5.33 and Sir Charles Rose was reported as being a founder member of the Moth Syndicate owning G-EBZL at Woodley in 2.33.
Re-registered [C of R 4347] 21.4.33 to Sir Charles H Rose; operated by Portsmouth Aero Club, Portsmouth [confirmed in operation 9.33]. Winner of Portsmouth Trophy Air Race 21.7.34, entered by Francis Luxmoore [director of Portsmouth, Southsea & Isle of Wight Aviation Ltd].
Re-registered [C of R 6170] 9.8.35 to Airwork Ltd, Heston, Middlesex. Re-registered [C of R7110] 4.6.36 to Portsmouth Aero Club Ltd, Portsmouth, Hampshire.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) 15.10.36 when crashed on mudflats at Farlington Marshes, in Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth, Hampshire. A contemporary newspaper report gives details of the incident ("Hampshire Telegraph" - Friday 16 October 1936)
"PLANE WRECKED.
Crashes on Mud Flats at Farlington
PASSENGER INJURED
A Gipsy Moth aeroplane, belonging to the Portsmouth Aero Club, crashed on the mud-flats in Langstone Harbour just off Farlington yesterday afternoon, and was completely wrecked. The pilot of the machine, Mr. E. H. Burridge, escaped injury, and was able to lift his passenger. who received a broken leg, from the wrecked machine.
The crash was seen from Farlington Farm, and helpers dashed to the scene of the crash, and were able to bring the injured man to dry land by carrying him on blankets placed on sheets of corrugated iron. Later the passenger was removed to the Royal Portsmouth Hospital in the police ambulance; the pilot was also taken to hospital for examination.
Those who saw the crash said the machine appeared to get into a spin shortly after leaving the airport, and before the pilot was able to gain control the machine struck a mound on the mud-flats. The impact tore the fuselage and tail away from the wings and engine.
The pilot, Mr. Burridge (38), lives at 87, Kensington Road, North End, and the passenger was Geo. A. Tools (28), of 21, Nessus Street, Landport. The latter has a fractured femur. The pilot has leg abrasions, but was able to go home.
First To Help
The first to render help were two local men—Mr. William Ackerman and Mr. Arthur Hatch—who were at work on a farm nearby. They secured two poles and some sacking, with which they made an improvised stretcher. They then waded out from the shore a distance of about three-quarters of a mile through mud, being at times knee deep. On arriving at the plane, they found that it was badly smashed, there being no wood or metal suitable to make a splint.
A Miracle.
Mr. Hatch said "It was a miracle that neither of the men was killed. The machine was smashed like matchwood. The passenger, who was the more seriously injured, was quite cheerful and said 'This is my first trip, and took at what we have got,' adding that the machine got into a spin and the pilot tried to right it, but it landed on a little islet." Mr. Ackerman also said that the men were extremely lucky landing not he islet, for if they had landed a few yards away they would have suffocated."
Registration G-AAKN cancelled by/on 31.10.36 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawal from use of aircraft"
Farlington Marshes is a 119.7-hectare (296-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Portsmouth in Hampshire. It is owned by Portsmouth City Council and managed by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It is part of Langstone Harbour, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I.
Sources:
1. Portsmouth Evening News - Friday 16 October 1936
2. Hampshire Telegraph - Friday 16 October 1936
3. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/gb-registers-g-aa/g-aa-part-1?highlight=WyJnLWFha24iXQ==
4. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AAKN.pdf
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A.html
6. http://www.airliners.net/photo/Ferranti/De-Havilland-DH-60G-Moth/2198037
7. http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/hancrash.html
8. https://ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh60.pdf
9. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60g-moth-farlington-marshes
10. G-AAKN entangled with the fence at Barton 17/5/30: https://www.airliners.net/photo/Ferranti/De-Havilland-DH-60G-Moth/2198037/L
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farlington_Marshes
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Nov-2017 17:45 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 12-Nov-2017 17:48 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 01-Mar-2020 02:25 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Oct-2023 16:41 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [[Source, Narrative]] |
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