Incident Overview
Date: Wednesday 22 September 1943
Aircraft Type: Short Sunderland
Owner/operator: Royal Air Force – RAF
Registration Number: JM710
Location: off Bathurst RAF Station –
ÿ Gambia
Phase of Flight: Approach
Status: Destroyed
Casualties: Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9
Component Affected: Aircraft control system (specifically the turn function).Aircraft control system (specifically the turn function).
Category: Accident
A Sunderland JM710 aircraft crashed at Bathurst RAF Station during a nighttime turn, likely due to a pilot’s lack of experience and unfavorable weather conditions. The aircraft stalled while attempting to set the gyro, potentially due to a turn and insufficient night flying experience.A Sunderland JM710 aircraft crashed at Bathurst RAF Station during a nighttime turn, likely due to a pilot’s lack of experience and unfavorable weather conditions. The aircraft stalled while attempting to set the gyro, potentially due to a turn and insufficient night flying experience.
Description
Sunderland JM710 struck the water at night while turning on its circuit prior to landing at Bathurst RAF Station. In its findings the Court of Inquiry stated: “The cause of the accident is obscure. The aircraft crashed whilst turning on its circuit prior to landing. A possible cause was that the Pilot with not much night flying experience returned to RAF Bathurst whilst the weather conditions were not ideal, and the aircraft stalled in its turn. It was thought that the pilot was about to make his run up the flare path to set the gyro, as is normal practice, and stalled in the turn.
Source of Information
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/images/collection/pdf/RC09125_006–1-.pdfhttps://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/images/collection/pdf/RC09125_006–1-.pdfPrimary Cause
Pilot inexperience and unfavorable weather conditions during a nighttime turn.Pilot inexperience and unfavorable weather conditions during a nighttime turn.Share on:
