ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 202217
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 May 1933 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.60G Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Kent Flying Club |
| Registration: | G-AAWX |
| MSN: | 1241 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Wakeley House, Charing, Kent -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Bekesbourne Aerodrome, Canterbury, Kent |
c/no. 1241: DH.60G [Gipsy I] registered as G-AAWX [C of R 2525] 3.5.30 to Sir Pyers G.J. Mostyn, Stag Lane. C of A 2480 issued 3.5.30. Re-registered [C of R 2782] 8.30 to Miss Grace E Aitken, Gatwick. Re-registered [C of R 4490] 5.5.33 to Robert Christian Ramsay, Bekesbourne, Canterbury, Kent; operated by Kent Flying Club.
DH60 Moth G-AAWX was thoroughly wrecked at Charing, Kent, on 3.5.33, the pilot escaping from the crashed aircraft with severe injuries just before it was destroyed by fire. Edward John Littledale, a pupil who had only just completed a course of training to qualify for a Private Licence (his application was actually in the post to the Air Ministry!) set off on a practice flight from Bekesbourne in the Moth owned by Mr. Ramsay of the Kent Flying Club.
Officially, he was limited to a small area (3-mile radius) around the aerodrome but, instead of obeying the regulations, Littledale proceeded across country to his home village of Charing, a distance of 16 miles or so. On arrival, the pilot descended to a very low height and started to circle around his father's house, but soon lost control of G-AAWX and dived into the ground from a height of a mere 50 feet.
The AAIB investigation concluded that the crash was entirely due to errors of airmanship arising from inexperience, the pilot unwittingly stalling the aircraft while manoeuvring near the ground. The pilot, Dr. Edward John Littledale, survived, and lived until May 2001 (died of natural causes (old age) in Brighton, West Sussex, at the age of 94). According to a contemporary newspaper report:
"Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald" - Saturday 13 May 1933:
"CANTERBURY DOCTOR IN AIR CRASH.
OWES LIFE TO 14-YEAR-OLD BOY.
Dr E.J. Littledale, resident House Surgeon at The Kent and Canterbury Hospital crashed in an aeroplane near his home at Wakeley House, Charing, on Wednesday evening last. A member of The Kent Flying Club, he was piloting a machine owned by Mr. R. C. Ramsay, of Howletts, Bekesbourne. After Dr Littledale had circled the house and waved a greeting the machine suddenly nose-dived and crashed in a field.
The doctor probably owes his life to the pluck and presence of mind of a 14-year-old boy, Reginald Turner, of Ravensdene Wood, Charing, who was the only person near when the machine struck the earth. The boy immediately ran to the wreckage and found flames already licking around the dazed airman. He pulled Doctor Littledale clear and almost immediately afterwards the 'plane was a mass of flames. So fierce was the blaze that the 'plane was burnt out within ten minutes.
The injured pilot was taken to Wakeley House and cared for by his father, Dr H.E. Littledale who is Medical Officer of Health for the District. His injuries included a fractured jaw."
Registration G-AAWX cancelled by the Air Ministry 2.7.33 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawal from use of aircraft"
Sources:
1. Portsmouth Evening News - Thursday 4 May 1933
2. Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald - Saturday 13 May 1933
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/15/C239: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6576707
4. https://ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh60.pdf
5. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/gb-registers-g-aa/g-aa-part-2?highlight=WyJnLWFhd3giXQ==
6. https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AAWX.pdf
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A1.html
8. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=2525.0
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charing
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Nov-2017 14:17 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 22-Feb-2020 18:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Mar-2020 17:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 19-Nov-2023 17:05 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
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