Cobelavia T.66 Nipper G-AVKT at Burton Constable.
On Saturday, 19th August 1972 an airshow was held to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund at Burton Constable. During the airshow a member of the Barnstormers Flying Circus used his aircraft, a Nipper aircraft, to undertake some demonstration flights. One of the tricks was for the pilot to throw out toilet rolls that would act as paper streamer and for him to then make a tight turn and cut the streamer with the wing of the aircraft. Unfortunately the aircraft stalled at around 400 feet above the ground while making a turn and then dived into the ground near Burton Constable Hall. The aircraft crashed inverted, was badly damaged and the pilot was killed.
Pilot - Mr William Kenneth Charles, aged 33. Cremated Chanterlands, Hull, East Yorkshire.
Nipper G-AVKT was owned by the All Saints Flying Group at the time of this incident. They would have based their aircraft locally in the East Yorkshire, possibly at Paull. All Saints Flying Group were three men. The pilot who was killed, Mr William Kenneth Charles, was one. The others were Mr Barry Olsen Smith, of Scarborough and Mr Stephen Laurence Meadley, of Beverley and they took ownership of it on 2nd March 1972.
Ken Charles lived in North Ferriby. He had been flying civilian aircraft since the 1950s and was a flying instructor as well as being a founder member of the Hull Aero Club.