ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 166238
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| Date: | Friday 30 March 1945 |
| Time: | 14:25 |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito PR Mk XVI |
| Owner/operator: | 544 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | MM396 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 1.5 miles west of RAF stn Benson, South Oxfordshire, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Benson, Oxfordshire |
Mosquito MM396: Stalled on take-off and crash-landed RAF Benson at 14:25 hrs. 30/03/1945
The aircraft crashed 1.5 miles west of Benson almost immediately after takeoff. Witnesses stated that the aircraft took off normally with a heavy load. On becoming airborne it apparently had difficulty gaining height, as if the engines were not delivering full power. At an altitude of 20-30 feet it stalled over some high tension wires, dipped its starboard wing and crashed into the ground. The fuel ignited and it was burned out. One paragraph of the report is especially interesting:
The cause of the accident is obscure. There is no direct evidence of technical failure. The pilot of this aircraft was the last pilot to fly the aircraft, having done six hours 25 minutes on March 24th. There are no complaints in the Form 700. It is observed that the pilot flew 28 hours 55 minutes between March 20th and March 27th. The court consider that on high flying this amount of work would tend to put excessive strain on the pilot. It is also observed that the pilot was badly shot up on March 16th and crash-landed at Lille.
Others did not agree as to excessive fatigue, although it was noted that the Mosquito had been “flying in a semi-stalled condition from the moment of take-off.” Unfortunately, too much had been destroyed (including throttle controls) to make definitive statements as to power settings, partial power failure, or whatever else might have contributed to the crash.
Crew:
P/O (J/88928) Raymond Morris HAYS DFC (US pilot) RCAF - killed
F/O (151.174) Donald SOUTH (nav.) RAFVR - killed
Sources:
1.http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH98%20prodn%20list.txtt
2.http://rcafassociation.ca/awards.php?keyword=&page=320&type=rcaf
3.ORB 544 Sqdn RAF
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-May-2014 07:40 | Nepa | Added |
| 17-Sep-2015 12:05 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Narrative] |
| 31-Mar-2019 16:32 | Nepa | Updated [Other fatalities, Narrative, Operator] |
| 13-May-2019 15:30 | Nepa | Updated [Location, Operator] |
| 09-Nov-2019 10:16 | Nepa | Updated [Source, Narrative, Operator] |
| 09-Oct-2021 21:11 | Nepa | Updated [Source, Narrative, Operator] |
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