Date:	Friday 17 September 1948
Time:	day
Type:	North American Harvard T Mk 2B
Owner/operator:	3 FTS RAF
Registration:	KF984
MSN:	18-084
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Feltwell, 10 miles west of Thetford, Norfolk, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Feltwell, Thetford, Norfolk
Destination airport:	RAF Feltwell, Thetford, Norfolk

Narrative:
(MSN 18-084): Delivered to RAF as Harvard FT402. Direct purchase, so no former USAAF serial. First recorded in service February 1946 with 3 FTS RAF Feltwell, Thetford Norfolk as 'FBU-E'.

Written off (destroyed) 17-9-48 when crashed during aerobatics at RAF Feltwell, 10 miles west of Thetford, Norfolk, England. The pilot was practicing for an aerobatic display as the forthcoming "Battle of Britain 'At Home Day'". At an altitude of 800 feet agl (above ground level) at RAF Feltwell, a slow roll to the left was begun, and the roll 'hesitated' when the aircraft was inverted. At this point, the aircraft's nose dropped, and the Harvard dived into the ground. The pilot was killed

Crew of Harvard KF984
Pilot II Roy Edward Dennis KELLY (pilot) RAF - killed on active service 17-9-48:

The subsequent Board of Inquiry concluded that the pilot entered the slow roll below the minimum 'safe' altitude for such a manoeuvre, and was unable to recover from the loss of control in the time and altitude available.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.433
3. The Harvard File (John F Hamlin, Air Britain, 1988 p 137)
4. 3 FTS RAF ORB: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27
5. https://www.feltwell.net/raffeltwell/articles/war_cemetary_details.htm
6. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/GDC7-LHC/roye-edward-dennis-kelly-1921-1948
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Feltwell#Royal_Air_Force_use
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._3_Flying_Training_School_RAF#Second_formation

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
15-Apr-2023 15:23	Dr. John Smith	Added
12-Jun-2023 21:57	Dr. John Smith	Updated