During the evening of 28th September 1939 this 220 Squadron aircraft was being flown on a basic circuits and landings exercise around Thornaby airfield. During the first landing at 20.00hrs the brakes were applied but due to wet grass it could not be stopped in the distance available, it overshot the landing area and ran through a hedge sustaining damage to the undercarriage.
Pilot - Sgt Dennis Robert Holbeche RAF (564819), of Grays, Essex.
Dennis Holbeche was to be killed in another Thornaby based accident on 11th June 1940, he was twenty six years old and is buried in Thornaby Cemetery.
Anson K6200 was built to contract 353855/34 by A.V. Roe Ltd at Woodford and was delivered to 220 Squadron at Bircham Newton on 9th September 1936 and was coded "220-N". It was returned to A.V.Roe Ltd at Woodford for modifications exactly two years later and was returned to Bircham Newton on 26th September 1938. Its coding was later changed to "HU-N". The aircraft moved with
unit to Thornaby on 21st August 1939 and on the outbreak of war the code changed again to "NR-N". The aircraft suffered Cat.R/FA damage in the incident detailed above in September 1939 and was dismantled and transported to Martin Hearns Ltd at Hooton Park for repair. On completion on repair it was flown to 37 MU at Burtonwood (an aircraft storage unit) on 11th February 1941 where
it was packed and was shipped to Canada for 12 FTS on S.S.Horda on 16th March 1941 but before it got there the ship was sunk by a U-Boat 1000 miles West of the Bishop Rock on 24th March 1941.