Avro 683 Lancaster accident at Roye, France, 9 May 1945 (RF230)
On May 9, 1945, an Avro 683 Lancaster (registration RF230) operated by Royal Air Force - RAF was involved in an aviation accident near Roye, France in flight. 30 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: It appears that several of the passengers moved from their allotted places in the aircraft, causing center of gravity problems and the pilot had already used 8 divisions of elevator trim to keep the aircraft in balance. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
Probable cause
It appears that several of the passengers moved from their allotted places in the aircraft, causing center of gravity problems and the pilot had already used 8 divisions of elevator trim to keep the aircraft in balance. However, the application of full flap caused loss of control.
— NTSB Determination
Accident narrative
The aircraft was returning to UK with 24 released prisoners of war as part of Operation EXODUS, a task placed on Bomber Command using the heavy bomber force to repatriate prisoners, some of whom had been incarcerated for over 5 years, to UK as quickly as possible. The aircraft crew sent a brief message saying that they were making a forced landing but when the pilot applied full flap, the aircraft went out of control, entering a spin from which it did not recover and it crashed and was destroyed by fire. Crew (514th Squadron): F/Lt Donald Beaton, pilot, F/Sgt Alfred McMurrugh, flight engineer, F/O Ray Bertram Hilchey, navigator, F/Sgt John Goodworth Brittain, wireless operator and air gunner, P/O Robert MacPherson Toms, air gunner, P/O Orval Clare Evers, air gunner. Passengers: Cpt Robert Worsley Wheeler, Lt Patrick Archibald Tomlin Campbell, Lt Eric Thomas Theodore Snowden, Sgt Ronald Arthur Adams, Cpl Emanuel L. Belshaw, Cpl Albert George Thompson, Cpl George William Franks, Fus Harold Cummings, Fus Owen Parkin, Gdm James Arthur Roe, Gun Alfred James Spencer Crowe, Gun A. N. Labotske, Pio W. L. Lindheimer, Pio Mordhai Maschit, Pvz Thomas Anderson, Pvt William Leonard Ball, Pvt Samuel James Bayston, Pvt Roland Albert Betton, Pvt Ronald Ernest Clark, Pvt Walter Croston, Pvt Richard Danson, Pvt Ralph Turnbull, Pvt Patrick Yates, Rif Thomas James Edwards. Source: http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/18570-the-first-seven-days-of-peace/
Probable cause (official findings): It appears that several of the passengers moved from their allotted places in the aircraft, causing center of gravity problems and the pilot had already used 8 divisions of elevator trim to keep the aircraft in balance. However, the application of full flap caused loss of control.