Date & Time:
Jan 30, 1946 at 1815 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
KN500
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Karachi – Rome – Istres – Membury
MSN:
16277/33025
YOM:
1945
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
4
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
7
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
11
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Istres AFB on its last leg to RAF Membury. While cruising at an altitude of 20,000 feet, the aircraft went through a low pressure area with clouds and turbulence. Shortly later, the aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in a field located in Teloché, about 15 km south of Le Mans. All 11 occupants were killed.
Crew:
F/O Victor Albert Bain, pilot,
Sgt Eric Edward Bartlett, wireless operator,
F/O Norman Leslie Brown, navigator,
W/O Joseph Edmund Edwards, wireless operator and air gunner,
F/Lt Lancelot Benjamin Albert Elias, navigator,
F/Lt Victor Franck Funnell, pilot,
F/Lt Thomas Knowles, pilot,
F/Lt Arthur William Atkinson Scott, pilot,
F/Lt Harry Raymond Shephard, pilot,
F/Lt James Stephen, navigator,
F/Lt Stephen Maurice Tugwell, pilot.
Crew:
F/O Victor Albert Bain, pilot,
Sgt Eric Edward Bartlett, wireless operator,
F/O Norman Leslie Brown, navigator,
W/O Joseph Edmund Edwards, wireless operator and air gunner,
F/Lt Lancelot Benjamin Albert Elias, navigator,
F/Lt Victor Franck Funnell, pilot,
F/Lt Thomas Knowles, pilot,
F/Lt Arthur William Atkinson Scott, pilot,
F/Lt Harry Raymond Shephard, pilot,
F/Lt James Stephen, navigator,
F/Lt Stephen Maurice Tugwell, pilot.
Probable cause:
Loss of control due to severe turbulence.
