Date:	Thursday 3 January 1946
Time:	afternoon
Type:	Avro Anson Mk I
Owner/operator:	5 ANS RAF
Registration:	MG445
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 5
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Slieau Ruy near Laxey, Isle of Man -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Jurby, Isle of Man
Destination airport:	RAF Jurby, Isle of Man

Narrative:
Avro Anson Mk. I MG445 of No.5 Air Navigation School based at RAF Jurby crashed on the (1,572 foot/479 metre) Slieau Ruy near Laxey, Isle of Man on the 3rd January 1946.

Flight Sergeant Beller and his crew had taken off from RAF Jurby during the morning of the 3rd January 1946. They flew to RAF Hooton Park near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire to collect Mr Williams and Mr Fachire, both of whom were civilian contractors working for the RAF, and then return to Jurby.

John Williams was employed as a carpenter by Martin Hearns Ltd at Hooton Park, they specialised in aircraft maintenance and repair, he was travelling to RAF Jurby to carry out repair work on a number of the resident aircraft. Paul Fachire was an Inspector of Aircraft Repairs, he lived in Ramsey on the Isle of Man.

The return flight from RAF Hooton Park started at around 16:00, the weather over the Irish Sea was hazy with some patchy cloud. As the aircraft neared the Isle of Man, Flight Sergeant Beller asked Warrant Officer Jones to contact RAF Jurby, before he could do that the aircraft struck the ground while in cloud. The aircraft literally turned itself inside out, probably killing the two passengers instantly.

Warrant Officer Jones regained consciousness shortly after, he could hear both Flight Sergeant Beller and Sergeant Komkommerman, he started to crawl (due to a severe injury to one of his legs) for help but passed out again within 200 yards. He came to again the following morning and made his way back to the aircraft, but during the night, both Beller and Komkommerman had succumbed to their injuries. Following this he crawled away from the aircraft, heading down hill; he passed out several times, he made it off the hill and into the fields above Agneash.

Warrant Officer Jones began to shout for help, his cries were heard by Mrs Shooter from Agneash, she and her husband set out to search for the voice they could here. Eventually their dog called 'Peg Leg' found Warrant Officer Jones lying in one of the fields; within an hour the Police and the medical officer arrived from RAF Jurby arrived and took Warrant Officer Jones off the hill and to hospital.

Crew of Anson MG445 were:
Wladyslaw H. Beller (Flight Sergeant, Polish Air Force) (Pilot, Service Number P/705585, aged 24) Killed on active service 3/1/1946
Benjamin Bernard Komkommerman (Sergeant, Royal Netherlands Air Force) (Navigator, Service Number 1899911, aged 24) Killed on active service 3/1/1946
Raymond Charles Jones (Warrant Officer) (Wireless Operator) survived but Injured
Mr John Williams (Civilian Contractor) (Passenger, aged 36) Killed 3/1/1946
Mr Paul Fachire (Civilian Contractor) (Passenger, aged 37) Killed 3/1/1946

Flight Sergeant Beller and Sergeant Komkommerman were buried at St. Patricks Churchyard, Jurby. The two civilian casualties were returned to their families for burial (locations not known). The crash site contains many burnt parts from Anson MG445, as the wreckage was destroyed by fire during the recovery operation

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.25. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. The Anson File (Ray Sturtivant, Air Britain, 1988)
3. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.21
4. Aircraft Wrecks: The Walker's Guide: Historic Crash Sites on the Moors and Mountains of The British Isles (p 215) By Nick Wotherspoon, Alan Clark, Mark Sheldon
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.93: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. http://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/crash_sites/isle-of-man/avro-anson-mg445-slieau-ruy
7. http://www.planetrace.co.uk/1940-1949_28.html
8. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-652-anson-i-laxey-4-killed
9. Photo of wreckage: http://www.island-images.co.uk/2013/1306/1306031645.html
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/7503215/beller,-wladyslaw-h/
11. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/7511096/komkommerman,-benjamin-bernard/
12. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/117784339/benjamin-bernard-komkommerman
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aviation_accidents_and_incidents_in_the_Isle_of_Man#1940s
14. photo of wreckage: http://www.island-images.co.uk/2013/1306/1306031645.html

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
03-Apr-2012 16:10	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
01-Jun-2013 16:51	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Narrative]
03-Nov-2019 01:02	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Source, Narrative]
03-Nov-2019 01:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
27-Sep-2020 22:36	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
30-Jul-2023 20:55	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Source, Narrative]]