Fatal aviation accident

Flight Commander Captain GV Wildman Lushington of the Naval Wing of the Royal Flying Corps was killed as a result of a flying accident yesterday.

Captain Fawcett who was visiting the Naval Aerodrome was a passenger on the plane but managed to escape without any major injuries, apart from a broken collarbone.

The Maurice Farman biplane took off in direction of Sheerness and it was when returning to the aerodrome that it fell a distance of 50 feet and turned in a complete somersault before crashing. Captain Lushington was found dead beneath the petrol tank among the debris. His death was caused due to dislocation of the neck. The accident was caused by a side-slip.

Two more views of the Maurice Farnam biplane: from the front (above) and the back. (Image: http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/)

Captain Lushington was a lieutenant in the Royal Marine Artillery and was just appointed a flying officer in the naval wing 12 months ago. The death has been felt very deeply at Eastery Barracks Portsmouth where he was a very popular officer.