Halifax DK173 at Rufforth airfield.
During the evening of 16th February 1944 this 1663 Heavy Conversion Unit aircraft was flown on a circuits and landings training flight using Rufforth airfield. After one of the short flights the aircraft landed at 18.58hrs and while making a turn at the end of the runway the aircraft made a slight swing which saw the undercarriage collapsed. It was found that bolts within the undercarriage assembly had been weakened prior to this incident and that the swing the aircraft took had additional strain on them which saw them fail.
Pilot - F/Sgt Bruce Douglas Bancroft RAAF (421635).