06/05/1950 - Kirby Cadet VM645

Mr Kenneth Lovett Brandwood who was a Civilian Instructor under training at No 182 Gliding School, Samlesbury and was carrying out his second flight of the evening on the 6th May 1950 in Kirby Cadet VM645. When after the aircraft was launched in the normal manner and gained about 800 feet before slipping the towing cable, Mr Brandwood then turned to port through 90º flew for a while and then to port again through a further 90º and flew normally down wind until he had just passed the hangars at a height of 400 feet. When he was almost abreast of the control tower the aircraft suddenly assumed a nose down attitude which steeped rapidly into a vertical dive and from which it did not recover crashing into the ground 150 yards from the control tower at 19:20 hours killing the pilot. 

Crash site of VM645

The aircraft had struck the ground at a vertical angle crushing the main spar, nose and inter spar ribs. The whole of the wreckage was contained within the aircraft’s wing span, the tail unit being folded over the wings slightly on the port side. The airspeed indicator showed a needle mark which indicated a impact speed of 71 mph, from the aircraft’s stalling speed of 24 mph to the impact speed of 71 mph and allowing for acceleration indicated that the aircraft dived in from about 200 to 250 feet.

Mr Brandwood of Hesketh Bank who was interested in flying from an early age, had learned to glide with the London Gliding Club and obtained a Royal Aero Club “A” certificate after a 10 day course in May 1949 were he completed 27 launches. On the 4^th March 1950 he joined No 182 Gliding School and had completed a further 19 launches up to the time of the accident. He also held a RAC “B” license for which he qualified for on the 25^th March 1950. During the war Mr Brandwood had served in the RAMC before transferring to the Glider Pilot Regiment, it is unclear whether Mr Brandwood received any flying training whilst with this unit.

Crash site of VM645

The aircraft was manufactured by Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd. and was first issued to No 123 Gliding School at Bray on the 14^th November 1946. Up to the 30^th October the aircraft had completed 198 launches and a total of 6 hours and 3 minutes flying time, in December 1946 BOAC at White Waltham carried out repairs to the wing and cockpit. It was returned to Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd. for repair and major inspection which was completed on the 28^th December 1948, it was then issued to No 182 Gliding School at Samlesbury were it completed a further 162 launches up to the time of the accident. The aircraft had not flown since the 2^nd October 1949 until the day of the accident, it was inspected at 17:00 hours by the school’s Chief Flying Instructor and test flown twice by one of the school’s Instructors, the first of which landed short of the runway in a field and the aircraft had to be de rigged, removed by hand to the launching site and re rigged there, the second flight terminated successfully on the airfield.

Examination of the aircraft structure and controls revealed no pre crash failure or malfunction although various defects were found of a nature suggesting bad maintenance. It was considered that only one of these defects might have had a bearing on accident. This was a repair to the pitot head, which had been carried out with 9 pieces of insulating tape, during this repair about one third of the annular holes had been obstructed and this would have had the effect of causing a greater lag than normal on the airspeed indicator when loosing height and gaining airspeed.

The official investigations into the accident concluded that even though the cause of the accident remained obscure owing to a lack of evidence it was felt that the pilot should have never been allowed to fly the aircraft as he lacked the necessary flying experience for the type. The accident was probably caused due to over correction of a stall or incipient stall by an inexperienced pilot, as a result of which the aircraft assumed an attitude with which the pilot was unfamiliar and incapable of realising or correcting before striking the ground. These were also the pilots first flights on the Kirby Cadet Mk II, which is considerably more, advanced than the MK I, and had also been the pilots first flight’s for almost three weeks.

Crash site of VM645 after being up righted