During the afternoon of 18th August 1950 young cadets were given flights in gliders with No.23 Gliding School at Rufforth airfield. Prior to this flight this pilot had already undertaken several flights on the same day and had this flight been successful it would have qualified the pilot for his Royal Aero Club "A-Certificate". The flight was described as being a winch launched high hop. The take off at Rufforth airfield and subsequent release went normally. Following a brief straight-ahead flight and thirty seconds after take off, the pilot was making a landing, while flying at around sixty feet from the ground the glider suddenly began a steep dive toward the ground. It crashed at a steep angle half way down and just south of the NE-SW runway at 16.28hrs which seriously injured the pilot who subsequently died of these injuries at York Hospital at 22.00hrs. An investigation concluded that the pilot possibly panicked in the cockpit and pushed the control column forward violently but then froze.
Pilot - Cadet Cpl Maurice Henry Stonelake ATC, aged 17, of Woodthorpe, Nottingham. Buried Redhill Cemetery, Nottingham.