Date:	Sunday 8 June 1986
Time:	18:48
Type:	Aeronca 7AC Champion
Owner/operator:	Trustee of the RFC Flying Group
Registration:	G-BGWV
MSN:	7AC-4082
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	1.5 miles NNE of Steventon Warren Farm, near Winchester, Hampshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	RAF Church Fenton, North Yorkshire (EGCM)
Destination airport:	Popham Airfield, Popham, Hampshire (EGHP)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
To enable him to make a long flight from Church Fenton, in Yorkshire, to the aeroplane's base at Popham, in Hampshire, on 8 June 1986 the pilot of Aeronca 7AC Champion G-BGWV thought that that he'd taken on enough fuel to fill its tanks and to enable him to make the flight non-stop.

However the problem was that at Church Fenton, the nozzle on the fuel pipe was larger than the orifice of the tank of the Aeronca. Thus a funnel had to be used and when this started to overflow, the pilot assumed that the tank was full.

But either it was not or, because of a stronger than expected headwind, the journey could not be completed non-stop. Sadly it was a case of 'sod's law'. After a three hour non-stop flight the Aeronca joined the Popham circuit and had just turned onto its base leg when its engine stopped. The pilot concluded that he had too little height and too much distance to make a glide approach to the airfield and so he chose a field, some 1.5 miles north north east of Steventon Warren Farm, near Winchester, Hampshire, in which to make a forced landing.

However only when he touched down did he realise that the ground sloped away from him and his landing roll was obstructed (the AAIB report enigmatically speaks of 'severe obstructions'). Thus he chose what presumably he perceived to be the least worst option and pushed the rudder hard to port, making the Aeronca slew to port and into a hedge. No doubt that brought it to a rest fairly quickly, whereupon the pilot kicked out the cockpit window and he and his passenger escaped through the void uninjured.

The Aeronca was less fortunate. It suffered major damage to the propeller, forward fuselage, wings, struts and undercarriage. Whilst that sounds to be damage of a magnitude at which most insurers would consider the aeroplane a write-off, that does not seem to be the case here. The registration of the Aeronca was not cancelled by the CAA until 9 January 2013 and then only as temporarily withdrawn from use (which suggests a very long term restoration process). As to the cause of the incident? When the tank of the Aeronca was examined, it was empty.

According to a note in the AAIB Final Report, the pilot had based his range calculations on an entry in the 1947 Edition of "Janes All The World's Aircraft", which claimed that the Aeronca 7AC Champion had a range of 270 miles at a steady cruising speed of 90 miles per hour.

G-BGWV was Built in 1946 and was ex-OO-GRI (Belgian Registry) which was first UK registered on 23 August 1979

1. AAIB Final Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f25ded915d13710003e5/Aeronca_7AC_Champion_G-BGWV_08-86.pdf
2. CAA Registration: https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-BGWV.pdf
3. G-BGWV at Popham in 1985: https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000402243.html
4. G-BGWV at Popham in 1985: https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000277326.html
5. G-BGWV at Burnaston, Derbyshire in 1984: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tristartech/40430544000/
6. https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/registration/G-BGWV
7. G-BGWV as Belgian-registered OO-GRI at Schaffen-Deist (EBDT) on 28-8-1977: https://www.airhistory.net/photo/258597/OO-GRI
8. https://www.john2031.com/aeronca/champ_7/G-BGWV_OO-GRI_1.jpg

G-BGWV landing at Popham airfield, alongside the A30 on 4 April 1980:

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
13-Nov-2020 18:59	Dr. John Smith	Added