Date & Time:
Sep 6, 1942 at 0030 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lockheed L-414 Hudson
Operator:
Registration:
N7325
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Silloth - Silloth
MSN:
414-1721
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 crew left RAF Silloth in the evening of September 5 on a night training exercise. After completing a flight over Northern Ireland, the crew was returning to his base in the middle of the night. On the return leg, the crew encountered low visibility due to clouds. The twin engine aircraft went off track to the east by 40 miles when it hit the slope of Mt Cross Fell, east of Penrith. All five crew members were killed.
Crew (1st OTU):
P/O Paul Arthur Bourke, pilot,
Sgt John Bumpstead, navigator,
Sgt Robert Band, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Leslie Thomas Griffin, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Richard William Hewitt, wireless operator and air gunner.
Source & photos:
http://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/pages/pennines/penninesn7325.htm
Crew (1st OTU):
P/O Paul Arthur Bourke, pilot,
Sgt John Bumpstead, navigator,
Sgt Robert Band, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Leslie Thomas Griffin, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Richard William Hewitt, wireless operator and air gunner.
Source & photos:
http://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/pages/pennines/penninesn7325.htm
Probable cause:
Because of the lack of contact it was assumed by the investigating officer that the aircraft's radio equipment had failed, leaving the crew with only dead reckoning as a means of navigating.
