ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 25281
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| Date: | Wednesday 22 August 1928 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Avro 504K |
| Owner/operator: | Gnat Aero Co Ltd |
| Registration: | G-EATU |
| MSN: | E3246 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Shoreham Airport, Shoreham, West Sussex -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Shoreham Airport, Shoreham, West Sussex (EGKA) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Ex-RAF E3246 (RAF serial used as construction number on the official CAA documentation, in lieu of any "official" constructors number). First registered 12.6.20 as G-EATU to Cecil Pashley t/a Southern Aircraft Ltd. (C of A 460, C of R 1472 issued). Local pilot Cecil Pashley, who was persuaded to become a partner in a budding aviation business, taught Frederick Miles to fly in Pashley's Avro 504K at Shoreham Airport. The Pashley and Miles partnership led to a flying school and joyriding business known as the Gnat Aeroplane Co. In May 1927, the company was formally incorporated as the Gnat Aero Company, Ltd. with a share capital of £1,500. The first directors were F.G. Miles, C.L. Pashley and F. Gaston Miles. The company soon expanded into aircraft repairs and then split into two separate operations: the Southern Aero Club and Southern Aircraft. G-EATU was re-registered on 1.9.27 to Gnat Aero Co Ltd., Shoreham, West Sussex.
Written off 22.8.28: According to the "eyewitness report" by Don Brown, as recounted in his book "Miles aircraft Since 1925"...
"'Pashley was taking off when the engine cut just as he was airborne. He hit a ditch and the result was a complete write-off, fortunately without serious injury to anyone. Pashley sprained an ankle while Hawes, the ground engineer who was sitting behind Cecil Boucher, the club secretary, in the rear cockpit, was thrown forward so violently that his teeth became firmly embedded in the back of the latter's neck. Perhaps the best part of that crash was the sight of Boucher ruefully rubbing the back of his neck while Hawes was feverishly running around trying to catch the broken dentures which were being scattered in all directions. Apart from the funny side, however, the accident was a tragedy indeed'.
Fortunately F.G.Miles' father bailed him out with a cheque for £300 which enabled him to buy a replacement Avro 504K, G-EBJE. That had a longer life than G-EATU. It still exists today, on display in the RAF Museum.
Registration G-EATU cancelled 7.1.1929 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawl from use of aircraft"
Sources:
1. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-EATU.pdf
2. http://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/business-pleasure/joyriding-companies
3. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-504k-south-downs
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_George_Miles#Early_life
5. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/15-aeroplanes/81-register-gb-g-ea
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-E1.html
7. https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1927/1927%20-%200378.html
8. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=15982.0
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 12-Dec-2013 23:31 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 19-Jun-2018 16:14 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Mar-2020 21:58 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
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