Duting the morning of 15th July 1959 this aircraft took off Horsham St.Faith to fly to Leconfield but the reason for this is not clear. It was flown by the Air Officer Commanding No.12 Group but the aircraft was on the books of No.12 Group Communications Flight. At 10.10hrs he had reached the skies around the airfield and made contact by radio to state that he was going to fly an overshoot of the airfield as he had fuel to burn off. The aircraft then flew along runway at between 100 to 150 feet in height but at a lower than a normal speed generally flown during an overshoot. The pilot then appeared to lose control, the left wing dropped and it rolled on its back the dived into the ground. The pilot was killed in the crash with the airfield site. It was thought that the aircraft had stalled with the undercarriage down when the pilot raised the flaps but did not increase power to the engines.
Pilot - AVM John Robert Andre Embling CBE DSO RAF (36035), aged 46. Buried Leconfield Churchyard, Yorkshire.
John Embling was granted a commission in the RAF in October 1935. He would fly with 77 Squadron then with 102 Squadron. On 3rd December 1942 he was in Halifax W7912 that was shot down by a night-fighter over France. Over the course of the next four months he evaded capture and returned to the UK. This saw him awarded the DSO. Much later and having continued to rise through the ranks he was made AOC, No.12 Group as well as being promoted to Acting Air Vice Marshal on 1st January 1959.