Newfoundland & Labrador

The twin engine airplane departed RCAF Torbay in Saint John's, returning to base in Dartmouth for maintenance purposes. On board were five passengers and three crew members. When the aircraft was a few feet off the ground, one or both engines sputtered momentarily. The aircraft sank to the ground, the engines picked up and the aircraft cleared the runway to continue in a straight climb. At 50 feet, a left bank was assumed with grew steeper developing a sideslip. The aircraft commenced to sink, throttles appeared closed. The aircraft struck the ground, burst into flames and was totally destroyed. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt Joseph Hyacinthe Ulysses Le Blanc, pilot,
F/Sgt William Freeborne Colville, navigator,
F/Sgt Harold Fulford Taylor, wireless operator.
Passengers:
Sgt Monty Holt Brothers,
Lac Smith Edward Crymes,
F/Lt Rudolph Irwin Ehrlichman,
Cpl Charles Frederick Else,
Lac Norman Clifford Fleischman.

The crew was completing practice instrument approaches at Gander Airport. On short final, at a height of 20 feet, the airplane stalled and the wing dropped. Full power was added but the airplane bounced lightly on its undercarriage. The wing caught on runway boundary snowbank 30 yards from point wheels touched the runway and the airplane crashed. All four crew members escaped uninjured.
Crew:
F/Lt E. M. William, pilot,
P/O D. F. Raymes, copilot,
P/O Johnson, wireless operator,
Sgt Corbitt, wireless operator.

The twin engine airplane departed St John's (Torbay) Airport on a maritime patrol flight with a crew of four on board. While returning to base, the crew encountered bad weather when one of the engine failed after the carburetor got iced. The pilot made a wheels up landing in dead timber in East Newfoundland. All four crew members were rescued in February and transferred to local hospital in good condition. The airplane was damaged beyond repair.
Crew:
F/Lt A. S. Pilcher, pilot,
Sgt H. A. Wishart, copilot,
Sgt H. F. Taylor, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt L. A. McGregor, wireless operator and air gunner.

During the takeoff roll at Argentia NAS, the airplane suffered a technical failure. It went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest. There were no injuries among the crew.

After touchdown at Gander Airport, the airplane veered off runway and crashed into a snow bank. There were no injuries but the airplane was damaged beyond repair.

The aircraft took off from base at 0940LT on a patrol duty on convoy. About 40 minutes into the flight, the starboard engine became very rough and the propeller was feathered. The Aircraft was losing altitude, bombs were dropped but height could not be maintained. As the aircraft was below the altitude of some hills, the captain landed on the water in Locker Bay. The the captain instructed the radio operator to try to contact base, but upon turning on the master switch, fire broke out in the cabin, forcing all personnel to leave the aircraft. The crew paddle ashore in the dinghy where they were found by some fishermen from Wellington who took them to town. The airplane was later towed to shore but was damaged beyond repair.
Crew:
F/O D. G. J. Maltby, pilot,
P/O P. Hutchinson, copilot,
P/O D. W. Morrisson, navigator,
P/O F. S. Johnston, radio operator,
Sgt G. F. Davidson, air gunner,
Sgt A. C. Collville, air gunner.

At 1856 GMT on 24 July 1941, RCAF Douglas Digby 742 left Gander with a crew of six for the purpose of convoy patrols. At 2320 GMT the weather began to deteriorate and the Meteorological Office predicted that the ceiling would remain at about 1500 feet with showers. At 2326 GMT the aircraft was recalled, but Digby 742 did not immediately respond. The recall notice was repeated four times by Gander Station and twice by RCAF Station, Sydney. The recall was acknowledged at 0030 GMT and at 0151 GMT the aircraft was in range of the Gander airbase. Digby 742 was spotted by Airport Control, but the aircraft reported that it could not see the airport. By this time, the ceiling had deteriorated to 200 feet with rain and increased wind and the cloud had begun to blow across the runway. When Digby 742 arrived, RCAF Digby 756 was attempting to land at Gander and Digby 742 was instructed to circle until Digby 756 had landed. Digby 756 landed safely at 0219 GMT but for approximately the next twenty minutes, Digby 742 was out of communication range. Captain Tomsett was instructed to proceed to Dartmouth where the weather conditions were more favourable but the Captain stated that he would attempt to land at Gander one final time and would proceed to Dartmouth if that landing was unsuccessful. At 0310 GMT a loud explosion was heard and there was no further communication with the aircraft. At 0330 GMT, the ceiling began to steadily rise becoming 1400 feet by 0530 GMT.
Crew:
F/Lt Martin Edward Tomsett, pilot,
P/O William Hume Mather, pilot,
P/O Allan Gower Pratt, navigator,
Cpl Thomas James Larmour Crawford, wireless operator,
Sgt Mervyn Samuel Hunt, air gunner,
Sgt Ronald Laird McDavid, air gunner.
Source & photo:
http://www.planecrashgirl.ca/2016/02/19/rcaf-digby-742/

The airplane departed Dartmouth on a convoy patrol mission. Due to bad weather conditions and unable to obtain position by wireless, the pilot ditched the airplane off Cape Race. About 10 days later, on early July, the crew was rescued by a schooner. The aircraft was equipped with flotation cells in the wings and did not sink. It was later towed ashore but was damaged beyond repair.
Crew:
F/Lt Ashman, pilot,
F/O Horne, copilot,
Cpl H. W. Stewart, navigator,
AC1 L. W. J. Hanley, navigator,
AC1 I. S. G. Mackie, navigator.

The airplane departed Gander Airport at 1958LT on a flight to England via Greenland and Iceland, and was completing a delivery mission with a group of five other similar machines. While flying some 50 miles northeast off Gander, over the Atlantic Ocean, the oil pressure failed on the right engine. The crew shut down the engine but was unable to feather the propeller. The captain decided to return to Gander but while approaching the coast, the left engine suffered the same problem. Eventually, the crew decided to attempt an emergency landing in a snow covered field. After touchdown, the airplane slid for few dozen metres, lost its both engines and came to rest nearby a wooded area located on the Seven Mile Pond, between Musgrave Harbour and Gander. The radio operator and the navigator were killed while the pilot and the passenger were seriously injured. The following day, the passenger died from injuries sustained.
Crew:
Joseph Mackey, pilot,
William Bird, navigator, †
William Snailham, radio operator. †
Passenger:
Frederick Grant Branting, famous Canadian medical scientist, Nobel Laureate and co-discover of insulin. †

Crashed in unknown circumstances into the Canada Bay while completing a flight from England. The exact date remains unknown, somewhere in April 1940. Occupant's fate unknown.