Date:	Tuesday 1 July 1947
Time:	day
Type:	De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	CFS RAF
Registration:	NL784
MSN:	86255
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Little Rissington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Little Rissington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire (EGVL)
Destination airport:	RAF Little Rissington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire (EGVL)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth MSN 86255: Taken on charge as NL784 at 10 Flying Instructors School, RAF Woodley, Reading, Berkshire 31.8.43. To 7 Flying Instructors School/CFS RAF South Cerney, Gloucestershire 7.5.46; coded "FDL-M".

Written off (destroyed) when spun into the ground during practice low-level aerobatics at Little Rissington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, 1.7.47; the pilot was carrying out aerobatic display rehearsals at low level, in preparation for participation in the Blackpool Air Pageant. At the top of a loop at 1,000 feet, the pilot put the aircraft into a spin, but then failed to initiate recovery action quickly enough. Although the spin had stopped, and the pilot had begun the spin recovery action, the aircraft struck the ground before pulling out of the dive.

The subsequent RAF Board of Inquiry determined that the pilot had not begun recovery action until the aircraft had descended to 250 feet AGL, despite the 'minimum safe altitude' for spin recovery having been establised in his pre-flight briefing at 500 feet

Crew of Tiger Moth NL784:
Flt/Lt (133361) Terence Martin Helmore (Pilot) RAFVR - killed 1.7.47 - buried in St Andrews Churchyard, Hornchurch, Essex.

Tiger Moth NL784 was Struck off charge as Cat.E(Scrap) 15.7.47

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft NA100-NL999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
3. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.315
4. Gloucestershire Echo 2 July 1947
5. Daily Mirror 3 July 1947
6. RAF Little Rissington: The Central Flying School 1946-76 p.310 By R. Deacon, A. Pollock, M. Thomas, R. Bagshaw
7. https://www.aviation-links.co.uk/Gloucestershire%20Aircraft%20Accidents.pdf
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2721926/TERENCE%20MARTIN%20HELMORE/
9. Pilot's grave marker: https://www.flickr.com/photos/36928008@N08/5492061929
10. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p862.html
11. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?24488-470701-Unaccounted-Airmen-01-07-1947&p=142179#post142179
12. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
13. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/138922417/terrence-martin-helmore
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Little_Rissington#Central_Flying_School:_1946_to_1976
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Flying_School

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-Sep-2021 18:28	Dr. John Smith	Added
08-Sep-2021 08:47	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator]
08-Sep-2021 20:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]