ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 221308
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| Date: | Friday 20 April 1917 |
| Time: | evening |
| Type: | Airco (DeHavilland) DH.1a |
| Owner/operator: | 59 (Reserve) Sqn RFC |
| Registration: | A1625 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RFC Fort Rowner, Gosport, Hampshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RFC Fort Rowner, Gosport, Hampshire |
| RFC Fort Rowner, Gosport, Hampshire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
20.4.17: Airco (DeHavilland) D.H.1a A1625, 59 (Reserve) Squadron, RFC Fort Rowner, Gosport. Written off (destroyed) when failed to pull out of a spinning nose dive after practice stall, RFC Fort Rowner, Gosport, Hampshire. The pilot - Lt Alexander Burns (Australian, aged 24) died 22.4.17 (two days later) of injuries sustained. After a malfunction, the aircraft plummeted from a height of 4,000 feet. He was badly injured and both his legs were broken. Alexander lived three hours after the accident, the last hour being unconscious.
This incident was the second fatal crash involving a 59 (Reserve) Squadron Airco (DeHavilland) DH.1a in the space of 24 hours (after the fatal crash of DH.1a A1627 the previous day - which see). According to the aircraft accident record card for Airco (DeHavilland) DH.1a A1625:
"Court of Inquiry 87/7954
3/5/17
Flying accident. Spinning nose dive. Pilot was practicing stalling, and failed to regain control. In the opinion of the Court of Inquiry, the machine was in perfect flying condition before flight. Accident was due to pilot failing to regain control of machine after stalling".
According to a contemporary report in "Flight" magazine (April 26, 1917 page 400 - see link #4)
"Fatal Accidents
Lieut. A. Burns, R.F.C, was making an ascent on the South Coast on April 20th evening, when he appeared to lose control of the machine, which nose-dived to earth. He was still alive, though badly injured, when picked up, but died after his removal to hospital."
Note that the RAF Museum archive (link #3) gives the date of death as 21.4.1917. However, the CWGC website (see link #2) gives the date as 20.4.1917, and thus that is being taken to be the "official" date...
Sources:
1. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1917.htm
2. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/3055413/burns,-alexander/
3. http://www.rafmuseumstoryvault.org.uk/archive/burns-a.-alexander
4. Flight magazine (April 26, 1917 page 400): https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1917/1917%20-%200400.html?search=Joseph%20Louis%20Lavigne
5. http://heritage.saintandrews.org.au/alexander-burns/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Jan-2019 17:37 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 30-Jan-2019 17:51 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 30-Jan-2019 17:55 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Narrative] |
| 30-Jan-2019 18:01 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 30-Jan-2019 18:03 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 30-Jan-2019 18:04 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 02-Feb-2019 12:07 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
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