Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster III Leamington Spa: 6 killed
Date & Time:
Feb 21, 1946 at 1120 LT
Operator:
Registration:
PB373
Survivors:
No
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a test flight when the aircraft exploded in the air, disintegrated and eventually crashed in a field. All six occupants were killed.
Crew (115th Squadron):
F/Lt John Douglas Cantrell, pilot,
F/Sgt Donald Frederick Payne, flight engineer,
F/Lt Frederick Reginald Berry, air bomber,
F/Sgt Maurice John Newman, navigator,
F/Sgt Dennis William Crutchley, wireless operator and air gunner,
F/Sgt Ronald Stedman, air gunner.
Crew (115th Squadron):
F/Lt John Douglas Cantrell, pilot,
F/Sgt Donald Frederick Payne, flight engineer,
F/Lt Frederick Reginald Berry, air bomber,
F/Sgt Maurice John Newman, navigator,
F/Sgt Dennis William Crutchley, wireless operator and air gunner,
F/Sgt Ronald Stedman, air gunner.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. It is possible that the aircraft caught fire in flight. Several elements from elevators and wings were sheared off while the aircraft was diving into the ground.
