ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 202781
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| Date: | Sunday 1 October 1933 |
| Time: | 17:30 LT |
| Type: | Spartan Three Seater |
| Owner/operator: | Aerofilms Ltd |
| Registration: | G-ABZH |
| MSN: | 103 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Colpe Farm, near Drogheda, County Louth -
 Ireland
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Demo/Airshow/Display |
| Departure airport: | Colpe Farm, near Drogheda, Ireland |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Spartan II Three-seater [Hermes IV] G-ABZH regd [CofR 3907 9.32 to Spartan Aircraft Ltd, Somerton, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. C of A 3599 issued 4.10.32. Re-registered [C of R 4242] 3.3.33 to Henlys Ltd, Heston Aerodrome, Heston, Middlesex. Re-registered [C of R 4603] 19.7.33 to Aerofilms Ltd, Heston; operated on National Aviation Day tour.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed after take-off at Colpe Farm, near Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland 1.10.33. Of the three persons on board, one - Flying Officer Robert Kingsley Rose (pilot, aged 34) was killed. The two passengers Patrick Hoey and Mrs Hoey were injured. According to a newspaper report, published 1.10.2008, on the 75th anniversary of the accident (see link #6):
"Sir Alan Cobham's air display was well under way, the crowds being treated to a wonderful spectacle by the nine planes throughout the afternoon. These nine planes were also joined by a three seater Spartan MK2 aeroplane, which was the property of Aero Films Ltd From London and which was under the command of a Captain K Rose, a former RAF and Canadian Air Force Pilot and who had often joined the air display team where he was quite an expert at aerial photography.
Captain Rose was 34 years old and had only been employed by this film company since the spring of 1933. Captain Rose had already taken up a number of passengers throughout much of that faithful Sunday afternoon and one of those passengers was that of a young Drogheda man, Patrick Hoey.
At around 5.30 pm, Mr Hoey decided to go up in the plane again, this time accompanied by his wife and so Captain Rose made sure they were safe and secure before he took to the air yet again. However, shortly after take off, the Spartan aircraft was seen to drop sharply to the left as it flew above the thousands of spectators below.
The plane then took a nose-dive; apparently after its engine had failed, and although the experienced pilot managed to straighten it up again, there was little he could do to avoid a crash landing. The plane was then seen by many to fly low over the hedgerow of the air display field where the spectators had gathered and indeed many of them were of the belief that this was all part of the `stunt`, not realising that the plane was about to crash land in the adjoining field.
Within minutes the crowd had begun to swell around the wreck of the Spartan, while the Civic Guards along with the Balbriggan Boy Scouts tried to form a cordon around the plane and its occupants. A nurse, from the Cottage Hospital, who was attending the display was on the scene of the accident pretty quickly, however it was soon disclosed that the pilot had been killed instantly on impact with the two other occupants of the plane, Mr and Mrs Hoey, having escaped with minor injuries."
Registration G-ABZH cancelled 2.10.33 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawl from use of aircraft"
Sources:
1. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/component/content/article/15-aeroplanes/76-register-gb-g-ab
2. https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ABZH.pdf
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A4.htmll
4. http://wight.hampshireairfields.co.uk/sim.html
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?17674-RAF-Fatalities-1933
6. https://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/lifestyle/air-tragedy-at-colpe-farm-75-years-ago-27127787.html
7. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1934.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Dec-2017 20:05 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 10-Dec-2017 20:08 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Total fatalities, Location, Narrative] |
| 20-May-2018 22:16 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 13-Jan-2022 11:39 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type] |
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