Crash of a Vickers 290 Wellington I near Aberdare
Date & Time:
Sep 19, 1939 at 0700 LT
Operator:
Registration:
L4256
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Harwell - Harwell
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew departed RAF Harwell at 2000LT on 18SEP1939 for a night training exercise. After 11 hours of flight, fuel reserves were low and the crew decided to abandon the aircraft. Out of control, the bomber dove into the ground and crashed in the mountainous region of Glyn-Neath, some 13 km northwest of Aberdare, Mid Glamorgan. All five crewmen were uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed.
Crew (75th Squadron):
F/Lt Alfred Howard Smythe,
F/O Peter James Robert Kitchin,
Sgt Thomas Robert Moss,
Sgt John Harris Hollingworth,
AC1 William Edward Denis Salt.
Crew (75th Squadron):
F/Lt Alfred Howard Smythe,
F/O Peter James Robert Kitchin,
Sgt Thomas Robert Moss,
Sgt John Harris Hollingworth,
AC1 William Edward Denis Salt.
Probable cause:
Fuel exhaustion and communication system failure.
