ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 227484
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| Date: | Saturday 13 January 1945 |
| Time: | 20:49 |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster X |
| Owner/operator: | 428 (Ghost) Sqn RCAF |
| Registration: | KB793 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Darlington, County Durham, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | RAF Middleton St George |
| RAF Middleton St George |
After a training flight over the north Yorkshire moors (Operation Night Cross Training Excercise) the aircraft was on return to RAF Middleton St George when 10 minutes from landing the outer port engine caught fire.
Attempting to quell the flames Cpt McMullen ordered his flight engineer to feather the engine in order to shut it down. It was later discovered that the feathering pipe had already been consumed by fire and so instead of shutting the engine down it added more oil to the already raging fire on the engine.
Cpt McMullen then ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft.
One by one the crew parachuted to safety, with Engineer Lewellin the last to leave. The accident report states that in reply to Lewellin's question, McMullen said, “Yes, go on, get out, I’m right behind you...”. Although press reports have his last words as being, "It's only me for it. There are thousands down below".
McMullen did not leave the aircraft, he in-fact stayed with it until the end, he successfully flew the striken aicraft away from the town of Darlington and crash landed in Lingfield Farm on the edge of town. He was killed on impact, his body was found still strapped to his seat.
Captain William McMullen saved hundreds of lives that day by sacrificing himself to save the innocent people below. His heroic actions are memorialised on a plaque on McMullen Road in the town of Darlington.
RIP Captain McMullen.
Sources:
ORB 428 Sqdn RCAF
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Jul-2019 18:55 | scartera | Added |
| 22-Jul-2019 19:15 | scartera | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Total occupants, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Mar-2022 20:22 | John B | Updated [Operator, Source] |
| 09-Mar-2022 19:28 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Operator] |
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