Date:	Wednesday 6 May 1953
Time:	afternoon
Type:	Percival Prentice T Mk I
Owner/operator:	2 FTS RAF
Registration:	VR228
MSN:	PAC-048
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Sawtragh, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Cluntoe, Ardboe, Co Tyrone
Destination airport:	RAF Cluntoe, Ardboe, Co Tyrone
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Percival Prentice T.Mk.I VR228, 2 FTS, RAF: Written off (destroyed) 6/5/1953: Pilot Officer David Charles Preston, 19, of Lincolnshire, crashed and was killed while on a solo training flight from RAF Cluntoe, Ardboe, County Tyrone, on the afternoon of Wednesday 6 May 1953. The Prentice dived into the ground after the aircraft stalled on an attempted overshoot due to a missed approach to RAF Cluntoe. He was buried at St Colman’s parish church, Ardboe.

The aircraft came down near Swatragh, a small village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Swatragh is on the main A29 road north of Maghera, and is situated within Mid-Ulster District, approximately 25 miles to the north north-west of RAF Cluntoe

RAF Cluntoe is a former Royal Air Force satellite airfield located 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Ardboe, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and 8.4 miles (13.5 km) east of Cookstown, County Tyrone. The WWII airfield was was closed during November 1944.

Afterwards it was transferred back to the RAF, but was closed during June 1945. Although the airfield was refurbished and reopened during February 1953 to be used by No. 2 Flying Training School RAF, this only stayed until June 1954, whereupon the unit moved to RAF Hullavington. The airfield was finally closed in 1955.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.144 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 Colin Cummings p 367
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain 1983)
4. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VR
5. https://en-gb.facebook.com/ArdboeTyrone/posts/pilot-officer-david-charles-preston-19-of-lincolnshire-crashed-and-was-killed-wh/2173080009394693/
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatragh
7. https://en-gb.facebook.com/ArdboeTyrone/photos/pilot-officer-david-charles-preston-19-of-lincolnshire-crashed-and-was-killed-wh/2173079386061422/
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Cluntoe
9. https://wartimeni.com/location/co-tyrone/ardboe/cluntoe-airfield/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Apr-2021 15:58	Dr. John Smith	Added
27-Apr-2021 17:15	dandy	Updated [Operator, Operator]