Crash of a Consolidated PBY-5B Catalina near Omagh: 11 killed
Date & Time:
Dec 30, 1942 at 1715 LT
Operator:
Registration:
FP239
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Killadeas - Killadeas
Crew on board:
11
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
11
Circumstances:
The seaplane departed Killadeas NAS on a cross country navigation exercise. En route, weather conditions deteriorated with limited visibility due to low clouds. While flying in clouds, the airplane crashed on Reaghan Hill located about 24 km northwest of Omagh. The airplane was destroyed and all 11 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Frederick Herbert Hilling, pilot,
Sgt John Samuel Orr, pilot,
Sgt John Edward Slade, flight engineer,
F/O Robert Mercer Adams, observer,
Lac Leslie Greenhalgh,
Sgt George Wilson Lowther,
Sgt Daniel Ward Yates,
Sgt William Nichol, wireless operator,
Sgt Arthur Horton Perkins, wireless operator,
Sgt Charles Bernard Ridge, wireless operator,
F/O Matthew James Hall Newman, air gunner.
Crew:
Sgt Frederick Herbert Hilling, pilot,
Sgt John Samuel Orr, pilot,
Sgt John Edward Slade, flight engineer,
F/O Robert Mercer Adams, observer,
Lac Leslie Greenhalgh,
Sgt George Wilson Lowther,
Sgt Daniel Ward Yates,
Sgt William Nichol, wireless operator,
Sgt Arthur Horton Perkins, wireless operator,
Sgt Charles Bernard Ridge, wireless operator,
F/O Matthew James Hall Newman, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain. Apparently, the crew got lost in bad weather.
