Date:	Thursday 6 July 1944
Time:
Type:	de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito NF Mk II
Owner/operator:	13 OTU RAF
Registration:	DZ698
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	4
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Central Avenue Fartown Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Finmere, Oxfordshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Mosquito DZ698: Took off for a training flight involving flying and landing on one engine. 06/07/1944
The pilot / instrutor 13 OTU was the sole occupant of the aircraft, opted not to carrout this exercise but to fly to Huddersfield. His parents and newly married wife lived in Fartown. Once over the Huddersfield area he became a series of passes at low level over the Fartown area. While making an aerobatic manoeuvre he lost control and the Mosquito crashed into housing on the corner of West Close and Central Avenue, Fartown. Unfortunately people were in the houses at the time and as well as the pilot being killed four civilians died. A further lady seated in her garden suffered minor burns. in Central Avenue Fartown Huddersfield Yorks.
Crew:
F/Lt (89841) Ernest Robert James BLEZARD (pilot) RAFVR - killed

Pilot he was from Huddersfield was killed doinng stunts over his parents house in Blackhouse Road when he lost control and crashed on the junction of West Close and Central Avenue, Fartown, Huddersfield killing the four people.
51 Central Avenue was destroyed, another adjoining house, 61 West Close was severely damaged.
Mosquito DZ698 was seen circling the area, appearing to dip a wing to one side, flipped over onto its back and plunged to earth. The aircraft it explode in a ball of flames on impact.
Pilot killed served in Canada as a Flying Instructor. Eight weeks before the crash he returned home and married local girl , Kathleen Grogan , on the 16th May 1944 at St.Brigid’s Church, Longwood.
Four other people died in the crash they were residents of the houses. They were, Mrs Flora May Dorothy Leighton (40) and her two year old son, Rodney Bracken Leighton of 51 Central Avenue. Mrs Henrietta Victoria Udell (64) of 61 West Close and Private Leslie Roy Littlewood, of the Royal Army Service Corps.

1.http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH98%20prodn%20list.txtt
2.http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/yorkshire/york44/dz698.html
3.https://www.flickr.com/photos/pasujoba44/5306718968/

4.https://huddersfield.exposed/wiki/Ernest_Robert_James_Blezard_(1919-1944)
5.https://huddersfield.exposed/wiki/RAF_Mosquito_DZ698

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
21-Jan-2010 06:25	NePa	Added
29-Feb-2012 23:54	Nepa	Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
06-Oct-2013 08:27	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Departure airport, Narrative]
18-Aug-2014 10:29	R.Giggs	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Narrative]
18-Aug-2014 10:36	Giggs	Updated [Narrative]
17-Aug-2015 10:54	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative]
20-May-2021 09:56	Xindel	Updated [Source, Narrative, Operator]
29-Nov-2021 20:02	Nepa	Updated [Source, Narrative, Operator]
15-Jan-2022 19:56	Nepa	Updated [Other fatalities, Departure airport, Narrative, Operator]