On 19th July 1943 this aircraft was to have been ferried from Sherburn to another airfield and had taken off around midday, shortly after taking off the oil pressure on the port engine was lost so its ATA ferry pilot made a safe return to Sherburn and landed safely. The failure of the port engine was investigated and metal particles were found in the oil filfers. The aircraft then had its port engine changed by a team of mechanics belonging to 60 M.U.

On 31st August 1943 a pilot of 7 F.P.P. then test flew the aircraft around the Sherburn in Elmet area to check that the engines were working correctly, the constant speed controls were not correctly set up and also the port engine was not running correctly so adjustments were made at Sherburn by the 60 M.U. mechanics and a second test flight was to be made to check the adjustments. The ATA pilot of this aircraft was in the process of taking off from Sherburn in Elmet airfield at 11.15hrs when the port engine lost power just before the aircraft lifted off the ground, the aircraft then swung sharply to port, the pilot lost control and the aircraft ground looped. The port undercarriage leg and nose wheel then collapsed and the aircraft came to a halt badly damaged.

Mitchell FR172 was built in the USA and once in the UK went to Scottish Aviation for assembly, it was then issued to 12 MU on 23rd June 1943. The aircraft's AM Form 78 gives an entry for 18th July 1942 as it having been taken on charge by 320 Squadron with the next day it sustaining Cat.Ac/FA damage on 19th July 1943. It is likely that it was being flown to join 320 Squadron by the ATA when it crashed at Sherburn on Elmet on 31st August 1943. Various later entries on the AM Form 78 then state that the damage assessment was upgraded to Re-Cat.B on 31st August 1943 but that it does not actually appear to have been ever made servicable after this. A damage assessment much later on 18th August 1944 saw it Re-Cat.E and it was struck off charge.

Pilot - F/O Geoffrey Maurice Firby ATA (M.557).

Acting Flight Engineer - F/O G C Kipps ATA.

Passenger - Cpl McIntosh.

Geoffrey Firby was born 21st September 1910 in Bradford, Yorkshire. He was employed as a haulage contractor when he gained a Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate (Cert.No.16801) at the Yorkshire Aeroplane Club on 28th December 1938. First Officer Geoffrey Firby was killed ferrying Anson N4945 from Sherburn in Elmet to Arbroath on 5th February 1944, the Anson was subject to a dummy attack by Spitfires and F/O Firby attempted to avoid the attack but in the process of taking evasive action an aileron broke off and the Anson crashed near Winston, Co.Durham. He was thirty four years old and is buried in Bradford's Undercliffe Cemetery (Sec.B, Cons Grave 505).