Crash of an Avro 652 Anson I off North Cape: 4 killed
Date & Time:
Jan 5, 1943 at 1700 LT
Operator:
Registration:
AX426
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Summerside - Summerside
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The crew departed Summerside on a routine navigation exercise. The airplane failed to return to base on completion of exercise, and according to witnesses, it began to climb from a low altitude when the port wing came away. The airplane crashed into the sea some 800 metres offshore. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Eric Harold Johnson, pilot,
Sgt Paul Clevland Bernstein, wireless operator,
Sgt Alexander Russell King, navigator,
Sgt William Frederick Thompson, navigator.
Crew:
Sgt Eric Harold Johnson, pilot,
Sgt Paul Clevland Bernstein, wireless operator,
Sgt Alexander Russell King, navigator,
Sgt William Frederick Thompson, navigator.
Probable cause:
Evidence does not disclose cause of a structural failure. It discloses both Sgt King & Thompson & pilot were inclined to be reckless. Investigation does not disclose any sign of engine trouble.
Final Report:
