Digby – Marham – Bircham Newton

The pilot was performing his first solo flight from RAF Digby to RAF Bircham Newton with an intermediate stop at RAF Marham. Aircraft left RAF Digby at 1145LT bound for RAF Marham. On approach to Marham, at a height of 200-300 feet, he lost control of the aircraft that crashed in flames in a field. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire and the pilot was killed. The pilot A. J. Warford-Mein was a 23 years old Australian pupil who arrives at RAF Digby last January. He was fully competent, and the flight was authorized by the chief flying instructor, in addition to the pupil’s own instructor.

Flight / Schedule

Digby – Marham – Bircham Newton

Aircraft

Avro 504

Registration

K2352

MSN

K2352

Date

April 14, 1932 at 01:00 PM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Military

Flight Phase

Landing (descent or approach)

Crash Site

Plain, Valley

Crash Location

East Winch Lincolnshire

Region

Europe • United Kingdom

Narrative Report

On April 14, 1932 at 01:00 PM, Digby – Marham – Bircham Newton experienced a crash involving Avro 504, operated by Royal Air Force - RAF, with the event recorded near East Winch Lincolnshire.

The flight was categorized as military and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a plain, valley crash site.

1 people were known to be on board, 1 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 1, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The pilot was performing his first solo flight from RAF Digby to RAF Bircham Newton with an intermediate stop at RAF Marham. Aircraft left RAF Digby at 1145LT bound for RAF Marham. On approach to Marham, at a height of 200-300 feet, he lost control of the aircraft that crashed in flames in a field. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire and the pilot was killed. The pilot A. J. Warford-Mein was a 23 years old Australian pupil who arrives at RAF Digby last January. He was fully competent, and the flight was authorized by the chief flying instructor, in addition to the pupil’s own instructor.

Aircraft reference details include registration K2352, MSN K2352.

Fatalities

Total

1

Crew

1

Passengers

0

Other

0

Crash Summary

The pilot was performing his first solo flight from RAF Digby to RAF Bircham Newton with an intermediate stop at RAF Marham. Aircraft left RAF Digby at 1145LT bound for RAF Marham. On approach to Marham, at a height of 200-300 feet, he lost control of the aircraft that crashed in flames in a field. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire and the pilot was killed. The pilot A. J. Warford-Mein was a 23 years old Australian pupil who arrives at RAF Digby last January. He was fully competent, and the flight was authorized by the chief flying instructor, in addition to the pupil’s own instructor.

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

1

Passengers On Board

0

Estimated Survivors

0

Fatality Rate

100.0%

Known people on board: 1

Operational Details

Schedule / Flight

Digby – Marham – Bircham Newton

Flight Type

Military

Flight Phase

Landing (descent or approach)

Crash Site

Plain, Valley

Region / Country

Europe • United Kingdom

Aircraft Details

Aircraft

Avro 504

Registration

K2352

MSN

K2352