Heathfield AFB (Prestwick)

An undercarriage failed upon landing at RAF Heathfield. The aircraft slid for several yards before coming to rest. There were no injuries but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The pilot started the take off procedure from runway 06. The aircraft failed to rotate, overran and impacted an embankment, bounced then crashed in a huge explosion on a second embankment. All 22 occupants were killed.
Crew (BOAC & ATA):
Cpt Richard Charles Stafford, pilot,
F/O Earl Wellington Watson,
Richard Coates, radio officer,
Roland Folford Davis, flight engineer.
Passengers:
F/O Elbert Beard Anding,
Joseph Culbert, radio officer,
Cpt Murray Benjamin Dilley Jr., pilot,
Robert Arnold Duncan, radio officer,
Cpt Alton Chester Earle, pilot,
Wesley Francis J. Goddard, radio officer,
Cpt Edward Hamel, pilot,
Donald Norman Hannant, radio officer,
Cpt Gerald Hull, pilot,
Cpt John Joseph Kerwin, pilot,
Philip Francis Lee, first officer,
Glenwood McKay, radio officer,
John Joseph MacDonald, radio officer,
Cpt James John Moffat, pilot,
Mr. Arthur Blakie Purvis (civilian),
Albert Tamblin, radio officer,
Walter Lee Trimble, first officer,
Martin Joseph Wetzel, first officer.
Source and photos:
http://www.aircrashsites-scotland.co.uk/liberator_lb-30a_heathfield.htm

The airplane departed RAF Heathfield in Prestwick, in the evening, on a schedule service to Montreal-Saint Hubert Airport with an intermediate stop in Gander, carrying 19 passengers and a crew of three. After departure, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions and followed a wrong heading. In limited visibility due to low clouds, the airplane impacted the slope of Mt Mullach Buidhe (2,366 feet) located on the Isle of Arran, some 41 km northwest of the departure point. The airplane disintegrated on impact and all 22 occupants were killed, among them RAF personnel and civilians.
Crew (BOAC):
Cpt Ernest Robert Bristow White, pilot,
Cpt Francis Delaforce Bradbrooke, copilot,
Henry Samuel Green, radio officer.
Passengers:
Albert Alexander Oliver, radio officer,
George Herbert Powell, radio officer,
Herbert David Rees. radio officer,
Cpt James Josiah Anderson,
Ralph Bruce Brammer, radio officer,
John Beatty Drake, radio officer,
Cpt Daniel Joseph Duggan,
Cpt George Thomas Harris,
Cpt Hoyt Ralph Judy,
Wilfrid Groves Kennedy, radio officer,
Cpt Watt Miller,
George Laing, radio officer,
William Kenneth Marks, radio officer,
Hugh Cameron McIntosh, radio officer,
Cpt John Evan Price,
Ernest George Reeves, flight engineer,
F/O John James Rouleston,
Cpt Harold Clifford Wesley Smith,
Cpt Jack Wixen.
More info and photos on:
http://www.aircrashsites-scotland.co.uk/liberator_lb-30a_buidhe.htm

The crew was performing a night training exercise out from RAF Heathfield (Prestwick). While flying over the Kirkcudbrightshire, the twin engine aircraft impacted the slope of a hill (2,448 feet high) located some 9 miles west of Dalry. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all four occupants were killed. The wreckage was spotted a day later on the slope of the mountain.
Crew:
F/O Iain Douglas Shields, pilot,
Norman Hector Duff, wireless operator,
LAC Gordon Eric Betts, navigator,
LAC Henry Gilbert Stewart Briggs, navigator.