Date & Time:
Feb 20, 1941 at 2030 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lockheed L-414 Hudson
Operator:
Registration:
T9449
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Delivery
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
414-2502
YOM:
1941
Country:
Canada
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
2
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
1
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Gander Airport at 1958LT on a flight to England via Greenland and Iceland, and was completing a delivery mission with a group of five other similar machines. While flying some 50 miles northeast off Gander, over the Atlantic Ocean, the oil pressure failed on the right engine. The crew shut down the engine but was unable to feather the propeller. The captain decided to return to Gander but while approaching the coast, the left engine suffered the same problem. Eventually, the crew decided to attempt an emergency landing in a snow covered field. After touchdown, the airplane slid for few dozen metres, lost its both engines and came to rest nearby a wooded area located on the Seven Mile Pond, between Musgrave Harbour and Gander. The radio operator and the navigator were killed while the pilot and the passenger were seriously injured. The following day, the passenger died from injuries sustained.
Crew:
Joseph Mackey, pilot,
William Bird, navigator, †
William Snailham, radio operator. †
Passenger:
Frederick Grant Branting, famous Canadian medical scientist, Nobel Laureate and co-discover of insulin. †
Crew:
Joseph Mackey, pilot,
William Bird, navigator, †
William Snailham, radio operator. †
Passenger:
Frederick Grant Branting, famous Canadian medical scientist, Nobel Laureate and co-discover of insulin. †
Probable cause:
Engine failure caused by an oil leak.
