DH60 Moth G-ABGM

De Havilland DH60 Moth G-ABGM
crashed Carter Fell, Cheviot Hills on 6th July 1933

Crew

PositionRank/TitleFull NameAgeService NumberInjury
PilotMrAlan McKean?30Uninjured

Accident Details

Sadly no official documents have been found relating to this crash, however it is reported in the Jedburgh Gazette that the aircraft flew into the English side of Carter Fell at the head of Redesdale on 6th July 1933 having left Newcastle destined for Edinburgh.

Aircraft owner, and likely occupant, Alan McKean, was a Pork Butcher based in Glasgow. It is known that in 1934 he carried out one of the first airfreight deliveries of sausages from Renfrew to Arbroath, so it is likely that he may have been on a similar flight, or he had been on a business trip in relation to setting up such flights to the south of the border in the future.

The aircraft, although suffering damage to the propeller and undercarriage, was recovered from the hill and repaired. The precise location of the crash is not known but there are persistent reports of aircraft wreckage on Limestone Knowe, which just happens to be on the English side of Carter Fell. As there are no other known crashes in this area, it is highly probable that these reports relate to the crash of DH60 Moth G-ABGM.

The aircraft was impressed into RAF service on 12th February 1940, with whom it was given the serial number X5112. It served with 22 Maintainance Unit at RAF Silloth and then 32 Maintainance Unit based at St. Athan. It is likely that the aircraft was used as a decoy as it would have served no useful purpose with the RAF at this time as they were using the newer De Havilland Tiger Moth for training purposes.

The Crash Site

With little information to go on, and any potential witnesses long since passed, it has been difficult to locate any clues as to the exact location of the crash. An RAF list of crash sites from the 1960’s records that small pieces of wreckage had been found on Limestone Knowe. The area is so large, finding any sign of the surviving wreckage would be down to pure luck. Despite this we continue to search and we are planning a return trip to search the area in the near future.

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