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Short S.25 Sunderland accident at Mt Crownarad, Ireland, 14 Mar 1945 (ML743)

Mt Crownarad, IrelandFlight

On March 14, 1945, a Short S.25 Sunderland (registration ML743) operated by Royal Air Force - RAF was involved in an aviation accident near Mt Crownarad, Ireland in flight. 12 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The cause of the accident must remain obscure. From the evidence it would appear that the aircraft was under the control of the pilot rather than the navigator at the time immediately preceding the crash. 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.

Sourcesthe Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A)Source recordUpdated 2026-08-05Data APIEditorial standards

Probable cause

The cause of the accident must remain obscure. From the evidence it would appear that the aircraft was under the control of the pilot rather than the navigator at the time immediately preceding the crash. The use of the landing light seems to indicate that the pilot was trying to pin point himself (or make a forced landing) in the opinion of this court, the pilot and navigator did not know where they were - which presupposes that they S.E. was u/s or not being used. The fact that the aircraft was on a course of 240 degrees when it crashed may indicate that the pilot realized that he was too far north and was turning back towards the southwest.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

The crew left RAF Castle Archdale at 0203LT to localize German submarine cruising off the Irish coast. Weather conditions were marginal and the visibility was limited due to a cloud layer at 1,000 feet. The night was very dark. The aircraft passed over the village of Kellybegs and continued to the north when it hit the slope of Mt Cró na Roda (Mt Crownarad) at a height of 471 meters. All 12 occupants were killed. Crew (201st Squadron): F/Sgt R. D. A. Becker, F/Sgt S. B. Frith, F/O V. Howkins, Sgt J. R. Mansfield, F/Sgt J. G. Robinson, F/S G. R. Kennedy, Sgt F. N. G. Ford, F/Sgt D. J. T. Twist, F/Sgt C. J. Ryder, F/O R. Delby, Sgt R. F. Woodward. Source: http://www.csn.ul.ie/~dan/war/ml743.htm

Probable cause (official findings): The cause of the accident must remain obscure. From the evidence it would appear that the aircraft was under the control of the pilot rather than the navigator at the time immediately preceding the crash. The use of the landing light seems to indicate that the pilot was trying to pin point himself (or make a forced landing) in the opinion of this court, the pilot and navigator did not know where they were - which presupposes that they S.E. was u/s or not being used. The fact that the aircraft was on a course of 240 degrees when it crashed may indicate that the pilot realized that he was too far north and was turning back towards the southwest.

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