Date:	Wednesday 20 June 1984
Time:	17:21 LT
Type:	Beagle A.61 Terrier 1
Owner/operator:	Trustees of The Norman Flying Group
Registration:	G-ASKJ
MSN:	3730
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Redhill Aerodrome, Redhill, Surrey -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Redhill Aerodrome, Redhill, Surrey (EGKR)
Destination airport:	Redhill Aerodrome, Redhill, Surrey (EGKR)
Investigating agency:	AIB
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
Beagle A.61 Terrier 1 G-ASKJ was built as an Auster AOP.6 VX926, and delivered to the RAF on 15/12/1949. RAF service career was with the A&AEE Handling Squadron, the AOP School, and 664 Squadron. Transferred to the Army Air Corps upon its creation in 1957, but remained with 664 Squadron. Struck off charge upon sale 25/9/1961 to Auster-Beagle Aircraft Ltd. Subsequent history was as follows...

01/11/1961; First registered in Ireland as EI-AMC. Irish registration cancelled by early 1963. (By 3/5/1963 the registration EI-AMC had been reallocated to a Beech B95A Travel Air c/no.TD-504)
16/07/1963: First UK civil registered (C of R R7247/1) as G-ASKJ to Beagle Aircraft Ltd., Rearsby Aerodrome, Leicester
01/10/1963: Registration cancelled/lapsed upon sale
07/10/1963: Sold on and Re-registered (C of R R7247/2) to the Lincoln Aero Club, Lincoln
16/01/1966: Registration cancelled/lapsed upon sale
28/01/1966; Sold on and Re-registered (C of R R7247/3) to Gordon Mackie and Thomas Leslie Stewart Mackie, Dunmurry, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
23/05/1967: Registration cancelled/lapsed upon sale
18/07/1967: Sold on and Re-registered (C of R R7247/4) to Derek Ray Wilcox, Northampton (appears to have been leased initially - until 1/5/1968 - then purchased outright)
01/03/1969; Registration cancelled/lapsed upon sale
02/06/1969: Sold on and re-registered (C of R R7247/5) to Frederick Henry Fenley, Little Staughton, Bedfordshire
30/05/1973: Registration cancelled/lapsed upon sale, but sold on and re-registered same day (C of R R7247/6) to Bristol and Gloucestershire Gliding Club Ltd., Nympsfield, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire
29/05/1980: Accident near Wrotham. That afternoon the Terrier had made an uneventful flight from Biggin Hill to Headcorn and in the early evening it was returning from whence it came when the pilot experienced engine vibration. As this got worse, the pilot decided to make an emergency landing on a stretch of motorway which was under construction and thus not open to road traffic. As he made his approach, he heard a bang, felt a thud against the aeroplane and noted that the vibration had increased. Nonetheless he continued his approach and made a three point landing in the centre lane of the motorway. But as the Terrier pursued its ground run, it weather-cocked and impacted the central barrier of the motorway, damaging its starboard undercarriage leg and propeller. Neither the pilot or passenger, both of whom were wearing full harnesses, were injured. They exited the Terrier and it was then that the pilot noted that the spinner was missing. It was, presumably, this which had come away and struck the aeroplane whilst it was on approach to land. He also discovered that two of the propeller securing bolts were missing and another two were loose. Subsequent examination revealed that five of the eight bolts had failed due to metal fatigue. The conclusion was that the propeller was loose due to the bolts being insufficiently torque loaded. Unfortunately it was not possible to undertake an analysis of the propeller. When the pilot returned to recover the Terrier, he found that the propeller had been removed and stolen!
06/05/1983: Registration cancelled/lapsed (C of R R7247/7) to Trustees of the Assets of The Norman Flying Group (a consortium of three joint owners) - aircraft based at Redhill Aerodrome, Redhill, Surrey
08/05/1983: Taxied into Druine Turbulent G-ASSY whilst on the ground at Redhill, Surrey (see link #2 for AAIB report)
20/06/1984: Written off (damaged beyond repair) at Redhill Aerodrome, Redhill, Surrey. The AAIB investigation into the incident was as follows...

"The aircraft was landed smoothly and brought to a full stop, after having carried out a local flight. After taxiing back to the runway threshold, a take off was commenced. Just prior to lift off, a loud crack was heard, and the aircraft lurched to the right and pitched nose down. The wings were levelled and the nose held up until the speed could be reduced to a point that control was no longer possible.

The right wing dropped a second time, and the aircraft semi cart-wheeled before coming to a stop. Investigation showed that the right undercarriage had failed t the weld joint, between the sub axle and the cross member. No heavy landings had been reported before the accident"

Damage sustained to airframe: Per the above AAIB report "engine shock loaded, right wing slightly damaged, left wing severely damaged, right undercarriage leg broken".

Registration G-ASKJ cancelled by the CAA as "aircraft destroyed" on 16/4/1985. However the owners, the Norman Flying Group, evidently were less pessimistic as they sold the wreck on, presumably as a restoration project. Re-registered to a pair of new owners in Sandy, Bedfordshire on 19/6/1990. It was sold on once again on 21/8/1996 to a new owner (restorer?) in Congleton, Cheshire, before the CAA finally deleted its registration on 7/8/2000 due to this owner having "gone away" and not returned the CAA's correspondence. But it would not be at all surprising if the wreck is lingering somewhere still and the aeroplane is restored, and flies again, at some time in the future.

1. AAIB Final Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422fe79ed915d13710009ab/Beagle_Terrier_A61_G-ASKJ_09-84.pdf
2. AAIB Report of accident 8/2/1983: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422eb4ded915d1371000061/Beagle_Terrier_A61_G-ASKJ_09-83.pdf
3. CAA: History of G-ASKJ 1963-1969: https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-ASKJ-1.pdf
4. CAA: History of G-ASKJ 1969-1985: https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-ASKJ-2.pdf
5. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=16946.0
5. G-ASKJ as EI-AMC in 1961: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1293038
7. G-ASKJ at Biggin Hill in 1964: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1229573
8. G-ASKJ in 1975: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1724942
9. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VX .
10. https://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=71636
11. https://www.key.aero/comment/1569126#comment-1569126

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

8 May 1983

G-ASKJ

Private (G-INFO)

0

Redhill Airfield (EGKR), Redhill, Surrey,

sub

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
21-Jul-2020 19:44	Dr. John Smith	Added
21-Jul-2020 19:45	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
21-Jul-2020 19:47	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
21-Jul-2020 19:55	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
20-Nov-2020 19:10	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, Accident report]