1945 Beinn Edra air disaster

Air disaster September 2025 October 2025 1945 Beinn Edra air disaster Boeing B-17G Accident 1945 3 3 y Controlled flight into terrain, due to poor weather Beinn Edra, Isle of Skye, Scotland Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress United States Army Air Force 44-83325 Bangor, Maine Meeks Field, Iceland RAF Valley, Wales (leg) Gioia del Colle, Italy (final) 9 9 9 (all) On 3 March 1945, a USAAF Boeing B-17G crashed into the side of Beinn Edra, a mountain on the Isle of Skye, Scotland during a ferry flight to Gioia del Colle, Italy.https://her.highland.gov.uk/Monument/MHG30839 MHG30839 - Aircraft crash site, Beinn Edra - Highland Historic Environment Record Flight The aircraft (Serial No. 44-83325) was an unassigned Boeing B-17G, brand new off the assembly line in Long Beach, California, and was in the process of being ferried across to Italy. In the flight's first leg, the aircraft was flown from Bangor, Maine to Meeks Field in Iceland, near the present day Keflavík Airport. For the second leg, the aircraft was due to be flown from Meeks Field to RAF Valley on the island of Anglesey, in North West Wales, with RAF Prestwick and RAF Nutts Corner being selected as diversionary airfields should any serious problems have occurred during the flight. The weather on the day of the flight was noted to be fairly good, but with a high pressure system across the British Isles, leading to low lying overcast cloud. The flight crossed the North Atlantic with no issues, making contact with RAF Stornoway as planned, before turning to follow the east coast of Scotland southwards. At approximately 13:45, the aircraft was witnessed by the residents of Staffin flying into the cloud base at 800 ft, trying to find its bearings on an east to west heading,25 October 2011 'Error' in crashed World War II US bomber flight record https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-15336599 21 September 2025 BBC News en-GB before disappearing from view, followed by the sound of an explosion of the aircraft slamming into the eastern face of the 2005 ft m mid -high Beinn Edra with all crew killed on impact.17 October 2020 Boeing B-17G 44-83325, USAAF, flew into Beinn Edra on the Isle of Skye on the 3rd March 1945 https://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/crash_sites/scotland/boeing-b-17g-44-83325-beinn-edra/ 21 September 2025 Peak District Air Accident Research en-GB Crew The flight was piloted by 1st Lieutenant Paul Main Overfield, Jr.Overfield Paul Main Jr https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=24204 21 September 2025 www.uswarmemorials.org and co-piloted by 2nd Lieutenant, Leroy Elmer Cagle.Cagle Leroy Elmer https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=24205 21 September 2025 www.uswarmemorials.org Also on board was 2nd Lieutenant Charles Keith JeanblancJeanblanc Charles Keith https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=24206 21 September 2025 www.uswarmemorials.org and Corporals Harold Duane Blue (Engineer),Blue Harold D https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=24207 21 September 2025 www.uswarmemorials.org Harold A. Fahselt (Engineer/Gunner),Fahselt Harold A https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=24210 21 September 2025 www.uswarmemorials.org Arthur W. Kopp, Jr. (Gunner),Kopp Arthur W., Jr. https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=24208 21 September 2025 www.uswarmemorials.org George Stroman Aldrich, Jr. (Gunner),Aldrich George Stroman Jr. https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=24211 21 September 2025 www.uswarmemorials.org John Henry Vaughan (Gunner),Vaughan John Henry https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=24209 21 September 2025 www.uswarmemorials.org and Carter Denning Wilkinson (Gunner).Wilkinson Carter Denning https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=24212 21 September 2025 www.uswarmemorials.org All crew were between the ages of 19 and 23. Recovery efforts Due to the isolation and where the plane crashed, recovery efforts weren't as easy as they normally would be, with the Inverness based No. 56 Maintenance Unit, wriggling wreckage free to fall down the mountain for easier extraction, whilst also contending with falling rocks, and one member being struck and injured by a falling oil cooler. The bodies of the crew were recovered and initially buried in the UK, before being repatriated to the USA by their next of kin, four of which (Aldrich, Fahselt, Vaughan, and Wilkinson) all being interred in a communal grave at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri, whilst the other four are buried in their home states. Jeanblanc is the only crew member who wasn't repatriated, and is buried in the American Military Cemetery in Cambridge, England. Memorials In 2015, the 70th anniversary of the crash, the names of the crewmen were listed on the War Memorial in the nearby village of Staffin.Beinn Edra air crew plaque erected https://skyeecomuseum.co.uk/latest/beinn-edra-air-crew-plaque-erected 21 September 2025 Skyecomuseum en-gb3 March 2020 Skye community remembers 75th anniversary of WWII US air crash on Beinn Edra https://www.whfp.com/2020/03/03/skye-community-remembers-75th-anniversary-of-wwii-us-air-crash-on-beinn-edra/ 21 September 2025 West Highland Free Press - www.whfp.com enMonument Details https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=1370&MemID=1792 21 September 2025 www.uswarmemorials.org As well as a memorial plaque at the crash site.Beinn Edra B-17 Flying Fortress 44-83325 Crash https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/106068 21 September 2025 Imperial War Museums enMonument Details https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=1371&MemID=1793 2025-09-21 www.uswarmemorials.org References 57 35 12 N 6 15 26 W type:landmark_region:GB title Category:1945 in Scotland Category:Accidental deaths in Scotland Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Scotland Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Category:March 1945 in the United Kingdom Category:1945 in the United Kingdom Category:Isle of Skye Category:Scotland in World War II Category:United Kingdom in World War II Category:United States in World War II Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving military aircraft Category:1945 in Europe Category:United States Army Air Forces