6 Group Unavailable
1652 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU) RAF Marston Moor. Halifax B Mk II aircraft BB 285 GV-Q, engaged in a training flight crashed and burned shortly after take-off at the Spofforth Sewage disposal works near Wetherby, Yorkshire, England.
Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph Jean Duclos (RCAF), Sergeant Edward Leslie Byrne (RAFVR), Sergeant Colin William Nowell (RAFVR), Sergeant William George Richardson (RAFVR), Flight Sergeant Cyril Brynmore Tingle (RAFVR) and Sergeant John Alexander MacLean Weir (RAFVR) were all killed in this flying accident
Remarkably, the Rear Air Gunner Sergeant R Roberts (RAFVR) survived the crash with only minor injuries when the rear fuselage broke free during the crash and was thrown clear of the burning wreckage
Sadly, two civilians on the ground were also killed in this crash, Mr Harry Dean and Mrs Mabel Una Dean
The accident investigation indicated that the the probable cause for the crash was that the rudder locking pin had come loose in the rudder mechanism causing loss of control of the aircraft at low altitude
Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database
