ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 207717
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| Date: | Monday 14 November 1938 |
| Time: | 15:02 |
| Type: | Fairey Seal |
| Owner/operator: | 7 ATS RAF |
| Registration: | K4780 |
| MSN: | F.2094 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | North Sea, 2 miles NE of Amble, Northumberland -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Acklington, Northumberland |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Fairey Seal K4780, 7 Armament Training Station, RAF Acklington: Written off (destroyed) 14/11/38 when the pilot lost control in cloud at 6-7,000 ft and spun into the North sea, 2 miles north-east of Amble, Northumberland, killing both crew:
Sgt William Arthur Curl (Service #563765, aged 25 from Feltham, Middlesex) killed. Body never recovered.
AC1 Joseph Millican (Service #535261, aged 20, from Hexham, Northumberland) killed. Body recovered with aircraft wreckage in 40-feet of water.
According to the official Air Ministry announcement in "Flight" magazine (November 24, 1938 page 479 - see link #3)
"FLYING ACCIDENTS
Sgt. William Arthur Curl (pilot) and A/C.1 Joseph Millican are missing and are believed to have lost their lives as the result of an accident off the coast near Alnmouth on November 14, 1938, to an aircraft of No. 7 A.T.S., Acklington, Northumberland"
AC1 Joseph Millican's body was recovered the next day, he was trapped under the tail of the aircraft in 6-7 fathoms of water. Sgt William Curl's body was never recovered. At the subsequent Court of Inquiry held on 17/11/38 the cause of the accident was, in their opinion, failure to recovery from an intentional or unintentional spin before hitting the water.
NOTE: Some published sources - see link #3 - give the crash location as "off Alnmouth, Northumberland". Alnmouth is approximately six miles from Amble, further north along the coast. The RNLI and Coastguard records show the crash as two-miles north-east of Amble.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft K1000-K9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1976, page 36)
2. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1939.htm
3. https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1938/1938%20-%203317.PDF
4. https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?108803-Fairey-Seal-K4780-No-7-ATS-RAF-Acklington-14-November-1938
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?10840-Fairey-Seal-K4780-No-7-ATS-RAF-Acklington-14th-Nov-1938
6. Amble RNLI records.
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Mar-2018 23:46 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 19-Mar-2018 17:35 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 12-Nov-2018 17:16 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 25-Feb-2024 14:59 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
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