Status: | |
Date: | Wednesday 22 September 1943 |
Type: | Short Sunderland |
Operator: | Royal Air Force - RAF |
Registration: | JM710 |
MSN: | |
First flight: | |
Crew: | Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9 |
Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
Total: | Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9 |
Aircraft damage: | Damaged beyond repair |
Location: | off Bathurst RAF Station ( Gambia)
|
Phase: | Approach (APR) |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | ? |
Destination airport: | ? |
Narrative:Sunderland JM710 struck the water at night while turning on its circuit prior to landing at Bathurst RAF Station.
Probable Cause:
In its findings the Court of Inquiry stated: "The cause of the accident is obscure. The aircraft crashed whilst turning on its circuit prior to landing. A possible cause was that the Pilot with not much night flying experience returned to RAF Bathurst whilst the weather conditions were not ideal, and the aircraft stalled in its turn. It was thought that the pilot was about to make his run up the flare path to set the gyro, as is normal practice, and stalled in the turn.
Classification:
Loss of control
Sources:
»
RAAF fatalities in Second World War among RAAF personnel serving on attachment in Royal Air Force Squadrons and Support Units / by Alan Storr, 2006
Photos
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.