Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax I in Colsterdale: 8 killed
Date & Time:
Nov 24, 1943 at 0100 LT
Operator:
Registration:
JB926
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Riccall - Riccall
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
The crew left RAF Riccall on the evening of November 23 for a night training exercise with five other similar aircraft. Shortly after midnight, crew informed ground about severe icing and elected to return when the aircraft went out of control and crashed on a mountain slope locate near Colsterdale. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew (1658th HCU):
Sgt R. E. Bacon, pilot,
F/O H. McCarthy, navigator,
Sgt J. Titterton, flight engineer,
Sgt G. H. Manley, flight engineer,
Sgt B. F. Taylor, wireless operator,
Sgt J. J. MacGilliveray, bomb aimer,
Sgt A. Winton , air gunner,
Sgt D. E. Philips, air gunner.
Source: http://laituk.org/Halifax JB926.htm
Crew (1658th HCU):
Sgt R. E. Bacon, pilot,
F/O H. McCarthy, navigator,
Sgt J. Titterton, flight engineer,
Sgt G. H. Manley, flight engineer,
Sgt B. F. Taylor, wireless operator,
Sgt J. J. MacGilliveray, bomb aimer,
Sgt A. Winton , air gunner,
Sgt D. E. Philips, air gunner.
Source: http://laituk.org/Halifax JB926.htm
Probable cause:
It was found that JB926 had in fact suffered severe structural failure in the air: the port outer wing had broken away, both outer engines had been torn off, as had both the port and starboard elevators. This together with the fact that the port wing tip was badly shattered and showed distinct scoring marks led again to conjecture that their had been some form of collision, either with another aircraft or a balloon cable. Later investigation found that the detached wing tip had almost certainly struck the fuselage of its own aircraft during the break up and the scoring marks had been made by JB926's own aerial wires.
