Date:	Friday 4 March 1949
Time:	day
Type:	Vickers Wellington Mk X
Owner/operator:	201 AFS RAF
Registration:	RP513
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:	RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire

Narrative:
Vickers Wellington Mk. X RP513 of 201 AFS, RAF Swinderby: Written off (damaged beyond repair) 4 March 1949 at RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshre.

The incident was somewhat bizarre; it was caused (in effect) by the pilot going to the toilet while the aircraft was in flight! The student pilot found that while the aircraft was in flight he had to go and use the on-board ELSAN toilet. In order to achieve this, he handed over control of the aircraft to the student Wireless Operator, who was not a qualified pilot.

As a result, the aircraft went into a spiral dive. The pilot then hastily returned to his seat (pilot's seat, not toilet seat...). He then assessed that the aircraft's airspeed was too low, and increased the angle of the dive in order to pick up airspeed.

However, the aircraft's airspeed indicator was already on the "second time around" on the dial, and the pilot only realised his error when the aircraft broke through the clouds...

A safe landing back at RAF Swinderby was made, but subsequent examination of the Wellington's airframe revealed that the airframe had been severely overstressed, and it was written off as "damaged beyond economic repair".

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings - A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat losses 1946-1949 by Colin Cummings p 482
3. 201 AFS ORB for the period 1-4-47 to 31-12-50: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/1989/1: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7162797
4. http://www.bcar.org.uk/1945-49-incident-logs#1949
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Swinderby#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
01-Apr-2023 16:37	Dr. John Smith	Added