Cierva 620 C.19 G-AAKZ Autogyro at Sherburn in Elmet.
On Sunday, 31st May 1931 the Yorkshire Aeroplane Club held an air pageant at their aerodrome site at Sherburn in Elmet. Many thousands of people visited to see various aeroplanes doing flying exhibitions and pilots competing in races. One of the aeroplanes brought to the show was an autogyro owned by the Cierva Autogyro Co Ltd of Hamble. During the afternoon the autogyro was demonstrated over the pageant. How long the demonstration lasted is unclear but during the flight it made a near vertical ascent, descended slowly to around 100ft then moved forward prior to another ascent. As it moved forward it appears to have then passed over the crowd. The pilot banked the machine to make a turn but during this a gust of wind was thought to have caught the rotor causing a stall and the autogyro began to fall. The pilot managed to steer away from the crowd but it crash landed heavily twenty yards from them and was damaged. The pilot sustained injuries including a serious head wound that required hospital treatment.
Pilot - F/Lt Harry Methuen Schofield RAFO. Injured.