What happened
The incident occurred during a return leg from a bombing exercise conducted off RAF Penrhos, Wales. A formation consisting of 14 Avro Anson aircraft was en route to its base at RAF Bircham Newton, with a scheduled intermediate stop at RAF Sealand. While flying southwest of Llandudno, the lead aircraft encountered foggy conditions and instructed the remaining crews in the formation to increase their altitude.
One of the participating aircraft, positioned on the left side of the formation, was flying at an approximate height of 100 feet above the sea. The pilot of this specific airframe decided to gain altitude. During this maneuver, the twin-engine aircraft lost control and crashed into the waters near Penmaenmawr. All three crew members assigned to the 220th Squadron were killed in the accident.