Date:	Tuesday 19 March 1946
Time:	14:14
Type:	Vickers Wellington Mk X
Owner/operator:	17 OTU RAF
Registration:	NC444
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near RAF Silverstone, Towcester, Northamptonshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Silverstone, Towcester, Northamptonshire
Destination airport:	RAF Silverstone, Towcester, Northamptonshire

Narrative:
Vickers Wellington B. Mk. X NC444, 17 OTU: Written off (destroyed) 19 March 1946: Took off from RAF Silverstone for circuit training, combined with asymmetric (single-engine) flying practice. The pilot overshot on a single engine approach, with the port engine shut down, but he when opened up the throttle for the "live" (starboard) engine, the engine failed to pick up and deliver power. Unable to maintain altitude on one engine, the Wellington crashed at 14:14 hours and caught fire near RAF Silverstone, Towcester, Northamptonshire. All five of the crew survived, albeit with injuries:

Crew:
Flying Officer J Oldam (Injured)
Pilot Officer R C Cripps (Injured)
Flying Officer E D Beaumont (Injured)
Pilot Officer A F Rigby (Injured)
Sergeant F E Bunning (Injured)

RAF Silverstone is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station, the site is now used as Silverstone Circuit. It straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border and is named after the nearby village of Silverstone. It is 10 miles (16 km) south west of Northampton, 11.1 miles (17.9 km) west of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire and 13.9 miles (22.4 km) east of Banbury, Oxfordshire

17 OTU was formed in April 1940 as part of No. 6 Group RAF Bomber Command at RAF Upwood to train light bomber crews using the Bristol Blenheim. It moved to RAF Silverstone in April 1943 to train night bomber crews with the Vickers Wellington. It was re-designated No. 201 Advanced Flying School in March 1947

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.34. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. ROYAL AIR FORCE, BOMBER COMMAND LOSSES VOLUME 7 Operational Training Units 1940-1947, By W R Chorley, ISBN 1-85780-132-6, Midland Publishing
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft NA100-NZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.99
5. 17 Operational Training Unit (OTU) RAF ORB (Operations Record Book) for the period 1-1-44 to 31-10-46: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/659 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4100368
6. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.97: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
7. https://aviationresearch.my-free.website/17-operational-training-unit-1943-1945
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Royal_Air_Force_Operational_Training_Units
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Silverstone

RAF Silverstone in 1945

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
29-Apr-2017 22:44	Dr.John Smith	Added
23-Dec-2017 19:26	Nepa	Updated [Time, Operator, Location]
06-Nov-2019 01:51	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
12-Nov-2019 22:34	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Operator]
22-Jun-2021 22:17	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
08-Jul-2023 16:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Source, Narrative]]