Zone

Crash of an Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley V at RAF Cottam

Date & Time: Aug 20, 1940
Operator:
Registration:
N1355
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Driffield - Cottam
MSN:
1519
YOM:
1939
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On final approach, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when the airplane collided with a fence, causing the undercarriage to be torn off. The airplane landed on its belly and slid for few dozen metres before coming to rest. All five crew members evacuated safely and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Crew (77th Squadron):
Sgt James Walter Ward, pilot,
AC1 M. J. Hood,
AC1 D. P. Starbuck,
AC1 F. N. Sheppard +1.
Probable cause:
Too low approach.