Test Flying Memorial
"...and everywhere the
blue sky belongs to them
and is their appointed rest
and their native country"
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
| Date | 16/03/1918 |
|---|---|
| Casualties | Cpt K.K. Muspratt MC; Flt Sgt S. Ashby MM |
| Aircraft | Airco D.H.9A C6350 |
| Took off from | Aeroplane Experimental Station, Martlesham Heath, Suffolk |
| Purpose of flight | Prototype Eagle VIII-powered D.H.9A test |
| Incident location | Martlesham Heath |
| Incident details | Tailplane failed when diving on a target at Martlesham Heath and the aircraft broke up in mid-air. Subsequent modifications included extending the plywood covering of the rear fuselage and strengthening the tailplane leading edge to prevent flutter. |