On 24th March 1973 the four men flying in this aircraft had been part of a party of twenty members of a Blackpool flying club who had flown in a total of six aircraft from Blackpool to Kirkbride to attend a social function at a hotel in the area. They remained at the hotel overnight and set out during the morning of 25th March 1973 with the other aircraft in the group to make the return flight to Blackpool. Before taking off the weather forecast was checked and after learning that the high ground of the Lake District was effected by low cloud. All pilots agreed that the route they would fly would be down the coastline of (what is now) West Cumbria south towards Blackpool. G-AZYP took off from Kirkbride at around 10.00hrs. During the flight south G-AZYP was seen by those on one of the other aircraft to deviate off the coastal route and fly inland possibly after those on G-AZYP had seen a gap in the cloud and gone to undertake some sightseeing. As the aircraft approached Wast Water it entered cloud, it was thought that the pilot realised that the aircraft was too low while flying in the area of high ground and had attempted to climb the aircraft. The aircraft was heard to fly over Wast Water but then crash at 10.25hrs. The aircraft was later found to have crashed in the region of Illgill Head, and that the wreckage had then fallen from the point of impact down onto Wasdale Screes. All board were sadly killed in the crash. This aircraft crashed a few hundred metres from where Avenger JZ390 crashed in 1945 and appears confused on various fellwalking forums on the internet.
Pilot - Mr Graham George Austin, aged 29, of Padgate, Warrington, Lancashire. Burial location unknown.
Passenger - Mr Stephen Roy Rogerson, aged 17, of Blackpool. Burial location unknown.
Passenger - Mr Anthony Roger Williams, aged 30, of Warrington. Burial location unknown.
Passenger - Mr Mervyn Douglas Chappell, aged 18, of Blackpool. Burial location unknown.
Graham Austin was born on 11th April 1944 in the Newton district of Lancashire and was the son of Frank and Edna (nee Rigby) Austin. The family lived at Padgate, Warrington. Graham had served in the RAFVR (Training Branch), commissioned on 19th April 1969 (208357) but then resigned his commission on 1st January 1971. He is probably buried or has ashes interred at Padgate with his mother (as per Find-a-Grave images). Both Mr Williams and Mr Austin were qualified pilots and were gliding instructors with the ATC at Burtonwood.
Stephen Rogerson was born on 9th March 1956 in the Fylde area of Lancashire and was the son of Mr and Mrs (nee Tolley) Rogerson. He lived at Bispham, Blackpool.
Anthony Williams was born on 30th November 1943 at Warrington and was the son of Mr and Mrs (nee Roberts) Williams. He lived in Latchford.
Mervyn Chappell was born on 26th October 1955 at Blackpool and was the son of Mr and Mrs (nee Smith) Chappell. He lived at South Shore, Blackpool.
I visited the lower wreckage at the crash site in June 2015 as part of a longer walk in the Wasdale area in very hot weather. I located the port wing and tail sections and some smaller sections of the aircraft skinning on Wastwater Screes. The photograph shown above shows the general area of where the aircraft crashed. I did not go higher because of the heat and running low on drink. Climbing the screes is not something that is recommended and this area is listed as an accident blackspot recorded on the Wasdale MRT website.
The remains of the port wing with the wheel and tyre still present.
The tail section of the aircraft partly covered by rocks. The colour scheme of G-AZYP appears very similiar to that of G-ASEK that crashed at Esk Hause in 1966.
One of the smaller fragments of the aircraft's skinning near the shore of the lake.
The site was recorded by Alan Clark and Mark Sheldon in 2012 and photographs with additional information are to be found on Alan's website here.