G-ASHT after being rebuilt.
On 1st May 1971 this aircraft had taken off from Leeds-Bradford airfield but suffered engine failure in the air as it headed north. It was seen to circle the Nidderdale area for some time with the engine misfiring until the pilot attempted a force-landing at 20.00hrs near Thornthwaite. Unfortunately as it landed the aircraft struck a stonewall at Slade House Farm and crashed. The pilot was sadly killed in the accident.
Pilot - Mr Harvey Beckwith, aged 38, of Shipley, Yorkshire. Buried Bradford Jewish Cemetery, Birks Fold, Bradford, Yorkshire.
Harvey Beckwith was born in the North Bierley district of Yorkshire on 13th July 1932. His surname was Berkowitz but this was changed to the English "Beckwith". He married in the Leeds area in 1960. I thank Mr Nigel Grizzard for contacting me in April 2012 and kindly supplying details of his burial location and photograph of his gravestone.
Harvey Beckwith registered ownership of G-ASHT on 27th May 1970. He probably based the aircraft at Leeds-Bradford airfield. It was destroyed as a result of the crash on 1st May 1971 but the wreckage was bought and rebuilt over the next five years. It was re-registered and was still airworthy in 2017.
