Halifax LW471 damaged in the air, landed at Burn airfield.
During the evening of 29th April 1944 this 578 Squadron aircraft was flown on a cross country training flight. A problem with an aileron appears to have developed in flight which saw the pilot heavily alter the trim to keep it flying level. At around 21.15hrs in flight and at 21,000 feet the pilot decided that he was caught short and needed to go somewhere important to take a leak. He turned the auto-pilot on and left his seat empty to go to the elsan at the back of the aircraft. Having left his seat and gone back, the aircraft climbed sharply, stalled, rolled on to it's back and began to dive toward the ground. The pilot managed to get back to his seat pulled the aircraft out of the dive at 12,000 feet and regained control. In pulling the aircraft out of the dive the stresses involved caused damage to the aircraft. A safe landing was made at Burn. It was thought that because the aircraft was left heavily trimmed the auto-pilot failed to compensate for this.
Pilot - P/O Geoffrey Ernest Sanders RAFVR (171014).