ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 24991
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| Date: | Saturday 20 July 1929 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Avro 504K |
| Owner/operator: | John Colquhoun Don t/a Dominion Aircraft Ltd |
| Registration: | G-EAJU |
| MSN: | H2592 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Rottingdean, near Brighton, East Sussex, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Shoreham Airport, Shoreham, West Sussex (EGKA) |
| Brighton, East Sussex | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Ex-RAF H2592 (former RAF serial used by Air Ministry in lieu of an official constructors number on the documentation). First registered (C of A 1588/C of R 1703) on 20.8.19 to A.V.Roe & Co Ltd. Re-registered 7.8.28 to John Colquhoun Don, Shoreham, West Sussex. Operated by F.G.Miles (although registered to John Colquhoun Don), based at Shoreham Aerodrome, for pleasure flying and "barnstorming" flights.
Written off 20.7.29: crashed on landing at Rottingdean, near Brighton, East Sussex. All three occupants were uninjured, while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. A contemporary local newspaper gives more details ("Daily Herald" - Monday 22 July 1929):
AEROPLANE OVERTURNS
A small Avro aeroplane, after giving exhibition flights at Brighton on Saturday, made several unsuccessful attempts to land. It finally landed in a field, and one of the wheels catching in deep rut, the machine overturned. The three occupants of the aeroplane were unhurt".
[Several other newspapers on 22nd have a similar report, but don't mention when the accident occurred. People may have assumed it was on the previous day - Sunday 21st July - when it actually happened on Saturday 20th]. Another report goes into more detail, and confirms the date as 20 July, not 21st (Weekly Dispatch (London) - Sunday 21 July 1929):
"JOY 'PLANE CRASH.
Lucky Escape of Pilot and Passengers.
The pilot and two passengers in a pleasure aeroplane at Rottingdean, Brighton, had a narrow escape from death yesterday when the machine got out of control on landing, ran into a corn field, and capsized. The aeroplane was making short trips from Rottingdean Cliffs, carrying passengers at 5/- a time.
It was piloted by Mr. Cecil Pashley, of Beach Road, Shoreham, and when he made his unlucky landing he had as passengers Mr. Anthony Graham Head, of Bigwood Avenue, Hove, and Mr. James Bray, of Shoreham Road, Hove. All were strapped into the machine, but they managed to scramble out of the overturned 'plane before motorists and picnickers who had seen the accident reached the scene.
"When the machine turned over we thought it was all up with them," said one of the would-be rescuers. "We rushed aeross a field expecting to see flames burst forth at any moment. It was an amazing escape."
It appears that at the time of this crash, which is said to have occurred on 21 July 1929, G-EAJU was being operated by Dominion Aircraft Ltd., a company formed by J.C.Don, his wife, Mrs E.Don, and F.G.Miles on 26 November 1928 'to acquire and take over as a going concern the business of civil aircraft pilot now carried on by John Colquhoun Don'. Miles was only a minority shareholder, holding 10 shares to the 750 of J.C.Don and 740 of Mrs E.Don. Dominion Aircraft Ltd. lasted little more than a year before going into liquidation.
Registration G-EAJU cancelled 2.11.30 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawl from use of aircraft"
Sources:
1. Daily Herald - Monday 22 July 1929
2. Weekly Dispatch (London) - Sunday 21 July 1929
3. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-EAJU.pdf
4. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-504k-brighton
5. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/15-aeroplanes/81-register-gb-g-ea
6. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?PHPSESSID=k4vndu7gvfltceo0nku7felf00&topic=15980.0
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-E.html
8. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Accb1929.htm
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rottingdean
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 11-Dec-2013 21:28 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 17-Jun-2018 21:30 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Mar-2020 23:44 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Date, Total occupants, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Jan-2021 21:49 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Location, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
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