What happened
The flight originated from RAF Detling with the objective of conducting a maritime patrol over The Channel. During the initial climb phase, the aircraft encountered low cloud conditions. Shortly after takeoff, the twin-engine airplane struck trees, leading to an immediate crash. All four individuals on board sustained injuries in the impact. While three crew members survived the incident, the wireless operator succumbed to their injuries a few hours later.
Findings
The accident occurred during the climb phase while navigating through low clouds. The primary contributing factor was the collision with trees shortly after departure, which resulted in fatal and non-fatal injuries to the entire crew.