ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 218144
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| Date: | Sunday 25 January 1914 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Bleriot XI |
| Owner/operator: | George Lee Temple |
| Registration: | 45 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Hendon Aerodrome, Hendon, Middlesex, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Demo/Airshow/Display |
| Departure airport: | Hendon Aerodrome, Middlesex |
| Hendon Aerodrome, Middlesex | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
25.1.1914: Blériot XI monoplane "45"**, was written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed inverted, Hendon Aerodrome, Hendon, Middlesex. Pilot - George Lee Temple (aged 21) - was killed. Mr George Lee Temple, a well-known aviator, was killed at Hendon Aerodrome this afternoon. At the time of his death he was giving the usual Sunday exhibition flights.
He had accomplished some good spiral work and was then seen to be making a deep descent. Apparently, he had difficulty with his machine and struck the ground with great force. Doctors, nurses and ambulance men found the plane overturned and the propeller in the ground. Mr Temple had broken his neck.
When the accident occurred there were only about 100 spectators present. He was flying his Blériot monoplane in a gusty wind of about 25 miles an hour. Onlookers said he was up in the air for about 10 minutes before the accident and had reached an altitude of about 500 feet. He descended about a hundred yards in an almost vertical position and just as he was about to make a turn for landing a gust of wind caught the tail of his aircraft, completely overturning it.
Mr Temple was 22 years of age and was a skillful pilot, known for being the first English airman to fly upside down in England.
The Royal Aero Club's Accident Investigation Committee's Report N. 19 stated that "the condition of the pilot's health, as disclosed by the medical evidence, coupled with the fact of the gradual turning over of the aircraft in its descent to the ground, point to the pilot having lost consciousness just before or at the commencement of the dive, and that this loss of consciousness and control was the cause of the accident."
NOTE: The number "45" was painted on the fin/rudder of Temple's aircraft. However it is not clear if this related to a serial or MSN number, or was simply a competition number for an air race
Sources:
1. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1916.htm
2. https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/George_Lee_Temple
3. http://www.earlyaviators.com/etemple.htm
4. https://www.geni.com/people/George-Lee-Temple/6000000014515953780
5. http://www.greshamsatwar.co.uk/Filename.ashx?systemFileName=GRESSDTW0000015.pdf&origFilename=GRESSDTW0000015.pdf
6. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/10595550/Daily-Telegraph-January-26-1914.html
7. https://www.rte.ie/centuryireland/index.php/blog/aviator-killed-during-exhibition
8. The Brisbane Courier (Queensland) Tuesday 27 Jan 1914 Page 7 at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/19961299/1580897
9. http://britishaviation-ptp.com/early_aviators_401_450.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Nov-2018 21:50 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 19-Nov-2018 21:51 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 19-Nov-2018 22:08 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Phase, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-Nov-2018 17:11 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 11-Jun-2023 21:03 | Nepa | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Operator] |
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