ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 201679
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 June 1931 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Avro 504K |
| Owner/operator: | Kent Aircraft Services Ltd |
| Registration: | G-AAUK |
| MSN: | KAS.2 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Epsom Downs branch line, Epsom Downs, Epsom, Surrey -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Epsom Downs, Epsom, Surrey |
| Berkesbourne Aerodrome, Canterbury, Kent | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
First registered (C of R 2421) 7.2.30 to Kent Aircraft Services Ltd., Folkestone, Kent (aircraft based at Berkesbourne, Canterbury, Kent). C of A 2456 issued 14.2.30. One of seven Avro 504Ks built up in 1930 to complete aircraft from components and spare parts with the c/nos. KAS.1 to KAS.7
Written off (damaged beyond repair) 3.6.31: Struck overhead telephone wires and crashed on take off at Epsom Downs, Epsom, Surrey. A contemporary newspaper report has further details (Western Daily Press - Thursday 4 June 1931):
'PLANE CRASHES ON BUSY RAILWAY LINE.
Considerable dislocation was caused to the Derby traffic on the Southern Railway by an aeroplane making a forced landing on the line at Epsom Downs Station just as the specials were preparing to leave for London after the last race. The trains were held up for about half an hour before the aeroplane could be removed.
The aeroplane, which was an Avro Desoutter, belonged to the Kent Aircraft Services at Folkestone.
It was piloted by Mr Adolphus William Whitta (25), of Brandon, Suffolk, and in it were two passengers, Mr Herbert Hall and his wife, Mrs Celia Hall. They were all slightly injured and taken to Epsom Cottage Hospital, but not detained.
It is stated that the 'plane struck the telegraph wires running alongside the track of the Southern Railway over the Downs. It crashed to the ground.
Mr and Mrs Hall, who live at Mitcham, were treated at the hospital for cuts and abrasions. The pilot received attention for a cut nose.
"Really Fine Flying."
Mr George Thompson, another pilot employed by the same firm, told a 'Press' reporter that it was really a fine piece of flying. Whitta realised he had engine trouble and so attempted to land. If he had had another 20 feet he would have made a perfect landing.
When it crashed, the machine put the signal wires out of action over a short distance, and for a time signalmen had to accept trains by telephone.
Mr Malcolm Hancock, the judge at Epsom racecourse, who lives at Clifton House, Knowle, said to a 'Press' reporter, "The mishap could not have happened at a worse time, as thousands of people were leaving the course to return to London by rail."
Note that, for some reason, the newspaper reporter called G-AAUK an "Avro Desoutter" (sic). However, the report also seems to confirm that the crash was on 3rd June (not the 4th) which is the day of the famous Epsom Derby horse race. The two passengers were presumably attendees at the Epsom Derby horse race.
If, as the Western Daily Press report says, G-AAUK came down on the Epsom Downs branch line, Mr Whitta and Mr & Mrs Hall were lucky to have suffered, respectively, only a cut nose and cuts and abrasions because that railway line had been electrified in June 1928 with a 660v third rail system. Thus I suspect that either it did not alight on the third rail or the power was promptly switched off before it could do any harm.
Registration G-AAUK cancelled December 1931 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawl from use of aircraft"
Sources:
1. Western Daily Press - Thursday 4 June 1931
2. https://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/gb-registers-g-aa
3. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AAUK.pdf
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A1.html
5. http://www.orpheusweb.co.uk/vicsmith/Accidents/Jun31.html
6. http://britishaviation-ptp.com/prod_civil.html
7. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Accb1934.htm
8. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=16582.0
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epsom_Downs_railway_station
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Nov-2017 00:22 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 24-Mar-2020 01:35 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Date, Total occupants, Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Mar-2020 01:36 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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