ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 138388
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| Date: | Tuesday 12 February 1946 |
| Time: | 09:45 |
| Type: |  Fairey Firefly Mk IF |
| Owner/operator: | 825 Sqn FAA RN |
| Registration: | DK455 |
| MSN: | F7711 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 75 St John's Road, Bootle, Lancashire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | RNAS Ringtail, Burscough, Lancashire |
| RNAS Ringtail, Burscough, Lancashire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Fairey Firefly Mk.1 DK455 of 825 Squadron FAA RN (Fleet Air Arm Royal Navy) took off accompanied by two other aircraft to carry out dummy deck landing practice at RNAS Ringtail, Burscough, Lancashire
Soon after taking off the aircraft were engulfed in cloud, and the pilot of DK455 climbed to 4,000 feet to give the other aircraft time to land before making his own approach.
Still in thick cloud at 4,000 feet the pilot lost control of his plane and it entered an uncontrollable spin. Thinking he was over open ground, between Liverpool and Southport, the pilot bailed out at 800 feet.
At around 09:45 hours the aircraft crashed into the middle of St John's Road, Bootle, near to No 75, smashing windows, making an 8 feet crater, and fracturing the gas main. Lieutenant Wall landed a few yards away uninjured.
The aircraft crashed 8 minutes after making a radio homing call. Members of Bootle NFS (National Fire Service) were quickly on the scene after witnessing the incident from a nearby NFS depot.
The aircraft crashed into the street where a number of children were playing, and some were badly burned, especially 5-year-old Irene Jacobs of No 71 St John's Road who died of her injuries a few days later in Bootle General hospital. A postman, Mr John Hudson, was blown from his bicycle onto his face and was also burned by the resulting inferno.
Mr William O'Callaghan of No 79 St John's Road was in the front bedroom of his house when he heard "the rushing of wind" and saw a parachute coming down. He then rushed downstairs and saw the aircraft appear from behind St. Johns Church with its landing wheels appearing to hit the telephone cables causing it to tilt and crash nose first, then bursting into flames.
Mr O'Callaghan then saw Mr Hudson, the postman, blown off his bicycle against the garden wall and also little Irene Jacobs came out from the fire at the rear of the wreckage. Mr O'Callaghan raised a coat and wrapped it around her whilst trying to put out the flames with his hands. Irene and her two brothers who were also injured were placed on a lorry and taken to hospital.
Mr Hudson recalled in his statement " I was delivering parcels in St John's Road when I heard the faint sound of an aircraft overhead. I looked up but there was a thick mist and I could see nothing. About two seconds later there was a sudden roar and an explosion in the roadway. I was blown on my face in the gutter. There was a terrible fire and I felt as though I was saturated in petrol and a mass of flames."
Residents in the street commented that the plane came down like a bomb, a blinding flash and, when it hit the ground, the houses shook.
The coroner recorded a verdict of "Death by Misadventure" and commended Mr O'Callaghan for his prompt action.
RNAS Burscough closed for flying in May 1946. It is possible that the above incident was an influence on the decision to close the airfield, due to the airfield's proximity to built-up areas of suburban Liverpool. Thereafter, the hangars were used for the storage of aircraft engines and other FAA equipment, under the direction of RNAS Stretton (a.k.a. HMS Blackcap), until both airfields were disposed of in 1957
Sources:
1. Fleet Air Arm Fixed Wing Aircraft Since 1946 (Ray Sturtivant, Mick Burrows & Lee Howard (Air Britain, 2004 p.229)
2. http://www.south-lancs-aviation.bravepages.com/DK455.htm
3. https://www.bootlehistory.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=22772&sid=f20f7db8981d8d2b0f0ced8409596170
4. http://lbmhs.co.uk/history-of-ringtail
5. https://images-of-burscough.co.uk/index.php/hms-ringtail/
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNAS_Burscough_(HMS_Ringtail)#Postwar_naval_operations
7. http://www.hms-ringtail.co.uk/History%20of%20ringtail.htm
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootle
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Sep-2011 03:54 | angels one five | Added |
| 17-Jan-2012 07:07 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Narrative] |
| 24-Jan-2012 13:16 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 06-May-2013 00:17 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 08-May-2013 17:03 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 12-Feb-2014 21:10 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Narrative] |
| 05-Mar-2014 14:32 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 15-Jun-2014 09:44 | angels one five | Updated [Operator] |
| 24-Jul-2014 01:09 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Feb-2015 05:59 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 30-May-2018 14:07 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 19-Oct-2018 09:04 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Operator] |
| 26-Aug-2020 00:14 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 01-Sep-2020 18:25 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 01-Sep-2020 18:25 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 15-Jul-2023 20:25 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [[Narrative]] |
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