Halifax LL490 near Hutton Wandesley.
During the morning of 9th August 1944 this 1663 Heavy Conversion Unit aircraft was used to fly a training flight that involved the crew shutting down one of the engines to practice flying and landing on three engines. At 10.10hrs an approach to land at Rufforth was made on three engines. When the flaps were fully lowered the aircraft swung violently and the instructor decided that they would not land and fly an overshoot. Unfortunately the aircraft was so low that before the engine speed picked up the aircraft's wheels touched the runway and the flight engineer found that he could not then retract the wheels once it got back in the air. The engines would not keep the aircraft flying with the additional drag so the instructor made a forced landing straight ahead in a field due west of the airfield near Hutton Wandesley. As the wheels were left down the aircraft faired reasonable well, it did not sustain enough damage to write it off, Cat.B damage resulted and it was sent for repair. It later transpired the flight engineer was wearing gloves and he had not been able to move the undercarriage levers correctly.
Pilot (instructor) - F/O Douglas William Moore RAFVR (161403).
Pilot (pupil) - P/O Fred Fairweather RAFVR (177626).