Date & Time:
Jan 11, 1943 at 1550 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
BK405
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Church Broughton - Church Broughton
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Church Broughton on a training mission including landings, circuits and single engine manoeuvre. About 15 minutes into the flight, the pupil pilot went through the drill in readiness to shut down the port engine but inadvertently feathered the starboard propeller, causing a complete loss of power. The airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in an field, bursting into flames. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/O Ralph Holland Tye, instructor pilot,
Sgt William Raymond Wearne, student pilot,
Sgt Ian Ross McDonald, bomb aimer,
Sgt John Kerr, wireless operator,
Sgt John Stoppard Eccles, air gunner.
Crew:
F/O Ralph Holland Tye, instructor pilot,
Sgt William Raymond Wearne, student pilot,
Sgt Ian Ross McDonald, bomb aimer,
Sgt John Kerr, wireless operator,
Sgt John Stoppard Eccles, air gunner.
Probable cause:
The pilot under training mistakenly feathered the starboard propeller after the left engine was shut down while completing a single engine exercise.
