Date:	Saturday 17 May 1947
Time:	day
Type:	Handley Page Halifax A Mk VII
Owner/operator:	21 HGCU RAF
Registration:	PP373
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF North Luffenham, Rutland, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF North Luffenham, Co. Rutland
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Handley Page Halifax PP373: Written off (damaged beyond repair) 17 May 1947 at RAF North Luffenham, Rutland. During the takeoff roll, after clearing for rotation, the pilot (Pilot II W B Cairns) lost directional control of the aircraft and abandoned the take-off; the pilot retracted the undercarriage to facilitate an emergency stop. However, the aircraft did not stop in time, and ran off the end of the runway at RAF North Luffenham. There were no casualties among the five crew but the aircraft was written off.

The subsequent Board of Inquiry deemed that the cause of the loss of elevator control was due to the shearing of a 5/16th inch 2BA bolt, which connected the control yoke to the elevator control rods. The bolt in question was apparently "below standard" in quality, and had been rejected by the manufacturers as such. Therefore, it should not have been used, but was apparently installed in error. A subsequent check showed that four other Hallifaxes of the same unit had been fitted with this very same defective type of bolt; fortunately, this was discovered before they had been flown.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.74. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.303
3. 21 HGCU RAF ORB for the period 1-7-1942 to 30-11-1947: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR29/529/2: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7160810
4. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-handley-page-hp63-halifax-vi-raf-north-luffenham
5. https://www.northlincsweb.net/RAFElshamWolds/html/21_heavy_glider_conversion_unit.html
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conversion_units_of_the_Royal_Air_Force
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_North_Luffenham#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Oct-2019 17:20	Dr. John Smith	Added
28-Oct-2019 21:32	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Narrative]
28-Oct-2019 21:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
02-Nov-2019 18:11	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Operator]
16-May-2023 17:51	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Operator, Operator]]
16-May-2023 18:04	Nepa	Updated [[[Operator, Operator]]]