Auster AOP.4 G-ANHO near Doncaster.

On Tuesday, 2nd May 1961 this aircraft took off from Doncaster airfield to undertake a circuits and landings training exercise. On board was a pilot with a passenger, though the passenger may have been a flying instructor. The aircraft was successfully flown on four circuits and landings. After taking off for the fifth circuit the pilot flew around to the approach end of the airfield but noticed that a glider was also making an approach to land prior to the arrival of a thunderstorm. The Auster's pilot allowed the glider to land and turned off his landing approach. Once the runway was clear the pilot then turned back toward the airfield but the engine then failed. Realising that the Auster would not make it back to the airfield with the height it still had, the pilot selected a field to make a forced landing in. Unfortunately as the aircraft got lower the pilot realised there were some high tension cables across the approach line, he avoided these but it then touched down on soft ground, the undercarriage collapsed and it skidded into some form of wire netting fence.

The aircraft was owned by Grantair Ltd, based at Sywell at the time of this incident.

Pilot - Name unknown.

Passenger - Name unknown.