ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 2181
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| Date: | Saturday 29 May 1937 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Hawker Audax Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 16 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | K3698 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RAF Old Sarum, Salisbury, Wiltshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Old Sarum, Salisbury, Wiltshire |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Written off (destroyed) 29/5/37: Stalled during formation break, dived into ground during Empire Air Day display at RAF Old Sarum, Salisbury, Wiltshire. Pilot - Pilot Officer Robert Morgan Elms RAF - was killed. According to the official Air Ministry announcement in "Flight" magazine (June 3, 1937 page 562 - see link #5)
"FLYING ACCIDENTS
P/O Ronald Morgan Elms lost his life in an accident to an aircraft of No. 16 (Army Co-operation) Squadron, Old Sarum. P/O Elms was the pilot and sole occupant Of the aircraft."
According to the following excerpt from "Hansard" (the written record of Parliamentary debates) for 28/7/37 (see link #4):
" Old Sarum Accident (one officer killed), 29th May, 1937.
No. 16 Squadron were to carry out squadron drill at a height of about 2,000 feet followed by a dive on a ground target on the aerodrome by one flight of the formation. The exercise was simple air drill, involving a climbing turn at its conclusion. This event had been rehearsed without incident on the morning of 29th May.
One pilot, in accordance with his part in the programme, pulled out of his dive and went into a steep climbing turn. This continued over the vertical the aircraft then diving into the ground. As his aircraft had plenty of speed, it is not known why he attempted to recover from the vertical climb by diving, as opposed to executing the latter half of a slow roll. He had completed about three-quarters of his 500 hours total flying on Audax aircraft"
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft K1000-K9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1976 page 27)
2. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1937.htm
3. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?314-RAF-officer-deaths-1-1-29-3-9-39
4. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1937/jul/28/empire-air-day-displays-accidents
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Feb-2008 10:53 | JINX | Added |
| 07-Oct-2009 01:10 | JINX | Updated |
| 04-Mar-2018 16:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 11-Apr-2018 17:12 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 09-Nov-2018 20:35 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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