Date & Time:
Oct 9, 1940 at 0355 LT
Type of aircraft:
Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley
Operator:
Registration:
P5091
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Topcliffe - Topcliffe
MSN:
1799
YOM:
1940
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Topcliffe in the evening of October 8 on an operation to Hanau, east of Frankfurt. The following night, while returning to his base, the crew encountered poor visibility. Too low on approach, the airplane collided with trees and crashed in Snape, some 15 km northwest of RAF Topcliffe. All five crew members were killed.
Crew (77th Squadron):
Sgt George William Brown, pilot,
Mid David Arthur Charles Hadingham, pilot,
Sgt William Goodall MacMorland, observer,
Sgt Joseph Reginald Wardman, wireless operator,
Sgt Cleveland Cottham, wireless operator and air gunner.
Crew (77th Squadron):
Sgt George William Brown, pilot,
Mid David Arthur Charles Hadingham, pilot,
Sgt William Goodall MacMorland, observer,
Sgt Joseph Reginald Wardman, wireless operator,
Sgt Cleveland Cottham, wireless operator and air gunner.
Probable cause:
It was not clearly determined if the low approach was caused by a pilot error as it was also believed that the aircraft ran out of fuel just prior to the crash.
