[1] The aircraft had first flown in 1944,[1] and was captained by F. W. Pinkerton, a former RAF serviceman who, as a sergeant, had been posted missing during World War II.

It was flying at approximately 1,350 feet (410 m) when it hit a mist-covered hill (53°31.240′N 1°58.733′W / 53.520667°N 1.978883°W / 53.520667; -1.978883) at Wimberry Stones, near to the Chew Valley on Saddleworth Moor near Oldham, 15 miles (24 km) from Manchester Airport.

Workers from a paper mill approximately 0.75 miles (1.2 km) away formed a human chain to carry the injured from the hillside to lower ground and a doctor at the scene said, "I found bodies scattered all over the place.

"[7] The cause of the accident was an error in navigation, incorrect approach procedure and failure to check the position of the aircraft accurately before the descent from a safe height.

[1] An hour later, a Proctor light aircraft crashed on a test flight in mist at Baildon in Yorkshire, approximately 40 miles (64 km) away.