Avro Anson Mk.I K6283 of No.2 School of Air Navigation crashed at Bradnop near Leek, on the 17th February 1941 while on a navigation exercise from RAF Cranage.  

While on a navigation training flight from Cranage near Holmes Chapel the pilot encountered cloud, he attempted to fly out of the cloud but the weather conditions were rapidly decreasing, the pilot found a gap in the cloud which he followed, on exiting the cloud he was confronted by rising ground and no room to manoeuvre and the aircraft struck the ground.  At the time of the accident the wireless operator was changing over to regional control from the local frequency for Cranage so the wireless was effectively useless for aiding navigation during this period.

The aircraft hit the ground fairly level but it slid into a bank between two ditches which turned the aircraft over trapping the pilot in the then water filled ditch from which he did not escape.

Above is where the aircraft came to rest, it approached from straight in front of the camera and came to rest inverted in the ditch between the two fields shown.

We were able to prove where the aircraft had crashed by these few small pieces of the aircraft which had been uncovered during work on the ditches bordering the field.

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