Saint Eval - Saint Eval

On January 11, 1955 at 09:00 PM, Saint Eval - Saint Eval experienced a crash involving Avro 696 Shackleton, operated by Royal Air Force - RAF, with the event recorded near Celtic Sea All World.

The flight was categorized as training and the reported phase was flight at a lake, sea, ocean, river crash site.

9 people were known to be on board, 9 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 9, crew fatalities: 9, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The aircraft left RAF St Eval at 1020LT for a 15 hours training mission, preceded by six minutes from a first RAF Avro 696 Shackleton MR.2 registered WG531 and carrying nine crew members as well. The last radio contact was recorded at 2058LT and two minutes later, both aircraft disappeared simultaneously. SAR operations were conducted but all operations were suspended few days later as no trace of both aircraft nor the 18 crew members was found. More than eleven years later, a fisherman found in is fishnet the engine number four from the Shackleton registered WL743 about 75 miles north of the assumed collision point. Crew (42nd Squadron): P/O L. W. Wood, pilot, Sgt H. Davies, pilot, F/O N. Horrocks, navigator, F/O G. Molyneux, navigator, Sgt D. Male, flight engineer, Mst I. O. Cathcart, air signaler, Sgt C. W. Scott, air signaler, Sgt R. E. Ridgers, air signaler, Sgt L. W. Cooper, air signaler.

Aircraft reference details include registration WL743, year of manufacture 1953.