Date:	Saturday 20 July 1935
Time:	day
Type:	Spartan Three Seater
Owner/operator:	Air Transport & Sales Ltd
Registration:	G-ABYH
MSN:	71
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Hayling Island, Havant, Hampshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Portsmouth Aerodrome, Portsmouth, Hampshire
Destination airport:	Hayling Island, Havant, Hampshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Spartan Three-seater [Hermes II] registered as G-ABYH [C of R 3842] 14.7.32 to Spartan Aircraft Ltd, Somerton, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. C of A 3632 issued 19.11.32. Re-registered [C of R 4241] 3.3.33 to Henlys Ltd, Heston Aerodrome, Heston, Middlesex. Re-registered [C of R 4513] 17.5.33 to Aerofilms Ltd, Heston; operated on National Aviation Day tour.

Re-registered [C of R 4602] 19.7.33 to Henlys Ltd, Heston. Re-registered [C of R 5149] 11.6.34 to Air Transport & Sales Ltd, Hayling Island, Hampshire.

Written off (destroyed) when crashed off low loop at Hayling Island, Havant, Hampshire, 20.7.35; pilot George Richard Moorby (aged 24) killed. As the pilot of a Hawker Hunter at Shoreham was to discover, many years later and with an even more tragic outcome, if you're going to loop your aeroplane, start high and come out high. Despite Moorby having served in the RAF, before resigning his commission as a Flying Officer on 19 June 1934, presumably no-one had given him this advice or, if they did, he wasn't listening or, at least on 20 July 1935, he hadn't remembered and followed the advice. As a result, when Moorby came to the bottom of his loop he was at zero altitude. He crashed the Spartan Three Seater into a field of wheat and was killed.

Whilst obviously this would be his last, it was not Moorby's first flying accident. On 3 January 1933, during a practice sortie then Pilot Officer Moorby was piloting Fairey Gordon K2636 when found himself overtaking his leader, Flt Lt Atcherley in Fairey IIIF K1158. As Moorby tried to correct his position he was caught by the slipstream of Atcherley's IIIF and collided with its tailfin. Regarding the alarming angle of the tailfin as a result of the collision, Aircraftsman First Class Charles Stocks, in the rear cockpit of the IIIF, presumably concluded that the aeroplane would not be making a safe landing and thus he baled out. Regrettably his parachute was not deployed at a sufficient height (there's no mention of the altitude at which the IIIF was when he left it) and he was killed on landing. Ironically both Moorby's Gordon and Atcherly's IIIF did make safe landings. Presumably there was an RAF court of inquiry. Whether this had any connection with Moorby resigning his commission the following year, I know not. Nor do I know whether this was indicative of Moorby having a propensity for reckless flying.

Registration G-ABYH cancelled 2.12.35 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawl from use of aircraft".

1. Hampshire Telegraph - Friday 26 July 1935
2. Portsmouth Evening News - Saturday 20 July 1935
3. Nottingham Evening Post - Saturday 20 July 1935
4. Sunderland Daily Echo & Shipping Gazette - Tuesday 23 July 1935
5. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/component/content/article/15-aeroplanes/76-register-gb-g-ab
6. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-ABYH.pdf
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A4.htmll
8. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1937.htm
9. http://wight.hampshireairfields.co.uk/sim.html
10. http://wight.hampshireairfields.co.uk/sim.html
11. http://www.ukairfieldguide.net/airfields/Hayling-Island-flying-sites
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartan_Three_Seater
13. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=14015.0

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
10-Dec-2017 17:17	Dr. John Smith	Added
14-Mar-2020 23:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
13-Jan-2022 11:35	Ron Averes	Updated [Aircraft type]