Crash of an Avro 652A Anson I in Oak Lake: 4 killed
Date & Time:
Feb 25, 1941 at 1500 LT
Operator:
Registration:
6250
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Rivers - Rivers
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Captain / Total hours on type:
54.00
Circumstances:
The crew departed Rivers AFB on a navigation training exercise. En route, they encountered poor weather conditions with heavy snow falls. Too low above the lake, the airplane flew into surface of lake in poor visibility and crashed 35 km southwest of Rivers AFB. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Joseph Goodwin Butcher, pilot,
Sgt William Henry Prest, observer,
Sgt Harry Albert Howarth, observer,
LAC Lloyd Ross Lancaster, wireless operator.
Crew:
Sgt Joseph Goodwin Butcher, pilot,
Sgt William Henry Prest, observer,
Sgt Harry Albert Howarth, observer,
LAC Lloyd Ross Lancaster, wireless operator.
Probable cause:
The pilot did not have enough experience to fly by instruments and tried to fly by 'contact' through a snow flurry. This caused the aircraft to crash into snow on a lake.
Final Report:
