What happened
The flight originated at Detling as part of a maritime patrol operation over the North Sea. During the return leg to base, the aircraft encountered deteriorating weather conditions. The situation became critical when the airframe suffered from fuel exhaustion. In response to the emergency, all four crew members ejected from the aircraft and abandoned it. The unpowered machine subsequently dove into the terrain and impacted the ground in the vicinity of Wilmington.
Findings
Post-accident assessments confirmed that the incident was triggered by a lack of fuel reserves. The official determination stated that the airplane was abandoned in flight specifically due to fuel exhaustion. Regarding personnel safety, two members of the crew escaped without injury, while the other two sustained injuries during the ejection and impact sequence.