Date:	Friday 5 December 1947
Time:	16:35 LT
Type:	Handley Page Halifax C.8
Owner/operator:	Lancashire Aircraft Corporation Ltd (LAC)
Registration:	G-AIHU
MSN:	1306
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Mynydd-y-Cwm Mountain, 4 miles South of Rhyl, Denbighshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Cargo
Departure airport:	Lille Nord Airport (LIL/LFQQ)
Destination airport:	Liverpool-Speke Airport (LPL/EGGP)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Handley Page Halifax C. Mk. VIII: Built for the RAF as PP222. Sold on and civil registered 6 September 1946 as G-AIHU to the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation Ltd., Stanley Park, Blackpool, Lancashire. Named "Air Adventurer". Written off (destroyed) 5 December 1947 when crashed into Mynydd-y-Cwm Mountain, near St. Aspath, 4 miles South of Rhyl, Denbighshire. All four crew on board killed

According to a contemporary press report on the accident in "Flight Magazine" (November 4th 1948, pages 538-539) which was sourced from the official Air Accident investigation report:

"CHARTER ACCIDENT REPORT

THE accident which occurred to Halifax C VII G-AIHU on December 5, 1947, in North Wales has been investigated and reported upon by the Chief Inspector of Accidents. On the morning of the accident the aircraft, which was operated by the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation, Ltd., flew from Bovingdon to Lille to collect freight for delivery to Speke Airport, Liverpool.

At Lille a direct flight to Speke in IFR conditions was planned and the aircraft took off at 14.38 hours. During the early part of the flight W/T communication was established with Uxbridge Area Control and three positions were reported. The last plot showed that after 57 minutes' flying the aircraft was 31 miles off its course. At 15.46 hours Uxbridge Control instructed the aircraft to communicate with Northern Area Control (Ringway).

At 15.59 hours G-AIHU tried unsuccessfully to establish communication with Ringway and Ringway in turn tried unsuccessfully to call the aircraft at 16.02 hours and 16.04 hours. All subsequent messages were between the aircraft and Speke Approach Control. It was while flying a QDM that G-AIHU crashed into the summit of Cwm Mountain in conditions of poor visibility 16 minutes after its ETA at Speke.

The pilot, Capt. J. H. Parsonage, D.F.C., had completed a total of approximately 2,000 flying hours, of which 1,025 hours were in Halifaxes. His night flying hours totalled 580. Visibility at Speke at about the time of the accident was down to 900 yards due to fog, and there was nine-tenths cloud at 1,200 feet. The Inspector found that crew licences and loading of the aircraft were in order, but the Journey Log Book had not been maintained in accordance with instructions, neither had communication with Northern Area Control been established as instructed. Communication with Speke Aerodrome Control was not established on R/T for reasons which could not be attributed to the ground station, and no use was made of the Speke MF landing approach beacon.

The captain had not reported reaching 2,000 feet, as instructed, and had reduced height to low level without notification or instruction. Also, he did not establish his position at the time of asking for landing instructions, neither had he indicated that he was unaware of his approximate position.

The Inspector considered that in view of the failure of the aircraft to report that it was 2,000 feet as instructed, and having regard to its signalled ETA, the Controller should have asked for the aircraft's position and new ETA before complying with the request for landing instructions.

The landing instructions signalled were not in accordance with the latest instructions, also the group QHG was corrupt in that it was not implemented by a height, and the addition of the extraneous group QFM 1,000 was necessary owing to the omission in the QHG group. The collective meaning of the message was not, however, misleading.

When at 16.32 hours the landing instructions signal was passed, the aircraft was already flying at a very low height. The fact that these instructions were given by the Controller without requesting the. aircraft's position had, therefore, no bearing on the accident.

The Inspector of Accidents concluded that the accident was caused by the captain's disregard of the Controller's instructions to enter the Zone and to report when he had reached 2,000ft, his failure to make use of the available navigation aids, and his attempt to locate the airfield by low-level flying during conditions of bad visibility".

Mynydd y Cwm is a hill in the Clwydian Range in Denbighshire, North Wales. It reaches a height of 304.8 metres (1,000 feet). It has recently been promoted to Marilyn status having a prominence of 150 metres.

1. http://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/crash_sites/wales/handley-page-halifax-g-aihu-cwm-mountain/
2. http://wrecksiteuk.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/cwm-mountain-halifax.html
3. http://derbosoft.proboards.com/thread/13889/liverpool-aviation-accidents-incidents
4. https://www.dyserth.com/halifax.html
5. http://aircrashsites.co.uk/civil-crash-sites-4/dsc_0091r/
6. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AIHU.pdf
7. Crash site memorial: https://www.alamy.com/memorial-to-the-handley-page-halifax-g-aihu-crashed-into-cwm-mountain-1947-near-st-asaph-image257037916.html
8. http://halifax346et347.canalblog.com/archives/les_halifax_ii_v_iii_vi_et_vii_/index.html
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_airliners_in_the_United_Kingdom#1940%E2%80%931949
10. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT 217/2006: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C576160
11. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT 217/2368: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C576522
12. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT 217/2049: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C576203
13. "Flight Magazine" (November 4th 1948, pages 538-539): https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1948/1948%20-%201840.html and https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1948/1948%20-%201841.html
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mynydd_y_Cwm

Memorial to the crew of Halifax G-AIHU on Mynydd-y-Cwm. 5-1-2022

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-May-2008 11:10	ASN archive	Added
01-Jun-2010 08:24	TB	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Source, Narrative]
07-Dec-2012 08:41	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
27-Jan-2014 18:28	TB	Updated [Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
11-Jan-2016 00:46	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
20-Feb-2017 20:04	TB	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Narrative]
08-Mar-2017 00:35	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]
22-Dec-2018 13:45	TB	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]
28-Oct-2019 22:49	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
29-Nov-2019 01:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Destination airport, Source]
29-Nov-2019 01:57	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]