Test Flying Memorial
"...and everywhere the
blue sky belongs to them
and is their appointed rest
and their native country"
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
| Date | 28/05/1948 |
|---|---|
| Casualties | Flt Lt B. Bastable DFC, A&AEE TP; Miss B.R. Edmunds FTO |
| Aircraft | Miles Marathon G-AGPD |
| Took off from | Boscombe Down, Wiltshire |
| Purpose of flight | Initial handling assessment |
| Incident location | Amesbury, Wiltshire |
| Incident details | Pilot omitted to re-trim the adjustable fin incidence after take-off causing overstressing of the tail unit which collapsed. The adjustable fin incidence was provided to assist the pilot in the event of an outboard engine failure on take-off, but had to be re-set before level flight speeds were reached |