RN Casualty in Chilean aircraft - 1 April 1933
 

On 1 April 1933 Supply Petty Officer William Johnson, Royal Navy, was killed in a flying accident in a Chilean military aircraft at/near Iquique.
He was serving on the light cruiser HMS Durban that paid a visit to that Chilean port between 30 March and 2 April 1933.

Who has more about this accident? Type? How Johnson came to fly in a Chilean aircraft?

Any info welcome, thanks.

Regards,

Leendert

Re: RN Casualty in Chilean aircraft - 1 April 1933
 

Thanks to a kind gentleman in Chile, I received the following (slightly edited):

Curtiss Falcon (FACh number 6) took off from Los Condores air base (Iquique city), in a demonstration flight with the FACh’s Curtiss Falcon number 10.

Both planes (from the Grupo de Aviación N° 1, Iquique) made evolved maneuvers over the bay. The N° 6 ended the exercise, flew back to the airfield, took a a dive from 500 meters high and lost the lower left wing.

Chilean officer and pilot Eduardo Arndt Brieva parachutes and survives, but the Englishman (= Petty Officer Johnson) was trapped in the machine.

Regards,

Leendert