Plane Crash near Coley Park - 1962

Originally reported by the Reading Evening Standard newspaper

On a clear sunny Sunday afternoon on November 4th 1962, two small light aircraft were enjoying the airspace above the lush green fields located between Coley Park and Whitley, which was a popular area for small aircraft during training etc. On this day numerous light planes were heard or seen in the area.

The DeHavilland Chipmunk and a Beagle Terrier had taken off earlier from the popular White Waltham airfield located just west of Maidenhead. Over the Coley Park fields they were reportedly seen doing aerobatics and at one time looked like they were having a mock-up dog fight.

A witness said that all of a sudden there was an explosion like a can of petrol exploding and bits drifted towards the ground. It seems that one plane ran into the rear of the other.

Local residents from Coley Park and nearby fishermen ran towards the wreckage and cut the pilots’ straps, risking being burnt themselves, and pulled the pilots free. One of the pilot’s uniform was on fire and the local rescuers put out the flames. Unfortunately their efforts were in vain as the man died shortly after in their arms.

The collision was seen and heard from miles around as calls to the police and firemen at Reading were received at an alarming rate. The initial reports said the crash was over Southcote which caused a slight delay in arriving at the scene, but the firefighters could do very little to save anyone.

Authors Note:

This acticle from the Evening Standard reported that five people died in this accident, but reports from locals at the time indicated there was only one pilot in each plane and both died from the impact with the ground.