Date & Time:
Jun 25, 1942 at 1445 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W1155
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Test
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Leeming - Leeming
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
2
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The crew were completing a local test flight at RAF Leeming. On approach, while turning on final, the airplane lost height, struck trees and crashed onto a search light battery. Five crew members as well as two soldiers on the ground were killed. The air gunner in the turret survived.
Crew:
Sgt William Joseph Walter Wiseman, pilot, †
Sgt John Alfred Carter, flight engineer, †
F/O James Gordon Mutter, navigator, †
Sgt Stanley Valentine Duvall, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt Donald Ross Stewart, air gunner, †
P/O Douglas Alfred Street, air gunner.
Ground staff killed:
Gun Tom Jobson Owers, †
Gun John William Kay. †
Crew:
Sgt William Joseph Walter Wiseman, pilot, †
Sgt John Alfred Carter, flight engineer, †
F/O James Gordon Mutter, navigator, †
Sgt Stanley Valentine Duvall, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt Donald Ross Stewart, air gunner, †
P/O Douglas Alfred Street, air gunner.
Ground staff killed:
Gun Tom Jobson Owers, †
Gun John William Kay. †
Probable cause:
The investigation suspected that cause of the accident was partly down to an elevator malfunction, blaming the possibility of the trimmer control wire connections being reversed.
