Date:	Wednesday 10 January 1945
Time:	11:20
Type:	Airspeed Oxford Mk I
Owner/operator:	311 Sqn RAF
Registration:	PH404
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Stob ant´Sluichd, NE of Beinn a' Bhuird, Cairngorms, Aberdeenshire. -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Passenger
Departure airport:	RAF Tain, Scotland
Destination airport:	RAF Hornchurch, Essex

Narrative:
Oxford PH404: Took off for passenger flight /holiday at London. 10/01/1945
On board were a Czech crew, including three pilots. These, and some other airmen, had completed their tour of duty and were flying south to RAF Hornchurch in Essex for a break in London. Also on board was a fourth pilot who had been assigned to fly the aircraft back to RAF Tain from Hornchurch.
The Oxford trainer left Tain in good weather and cloudless conditions. However, before long, communications with the aircraft were lost. Eventually, when the aircraft failed to arrive at Hornchurch and had not been reported at any other airfield, a search began. No trace of the Oxford could be found, however, and initially it was believed that it had crashed into the sea.
Over 7 months later—on 19th August 1945—two hill walkers came across the wreckage of the Airspeed Oxford almost on the summit of Stob ant'Sluichd while climbing the Beinn a' Bhuird range in the Cairngorms. Only then was the fate of the aircraft realised and the recovery of the missing airmen's bodies commenced. The wreckage was located at a height of 3,622 feet AMSL, just 10 feet from the summit of the mountain
Crew:
W/O (788022) Rudolf JELEN (pilot) RAFVR - killed
F/O (159.265) Jan VELLA DFC (2.pilot) RAFVR - killed
S/Ldr (82614) Karel KVAPIL (1.pilot) RAFVR - killed
F/O (147.633) Leo LINHART (pilot) RAFVR - killed
P/O (787.744) Valter KAUDERS (WOp/AG) RAFVR - killed

The airmen's bodies were laid to rest in Brookwood Military Cemetery (Czech Section) in Woking, Surrey. A memorial was placed at the crash site on Stob an t-Sluichd (Beinn a' Bhuird) on 18th September 2005.

Due to its inaccessibility for recovery vehicles, the aircraft remains were burnt onsite by recovery teams from RAF Dyce (Aberdeen). However, significant wreckage remains at the location, including both engines and a wing section.

1. Na nebi hrdého Albionu - J.Rajlich
2. http://www.aircrashsites-scotland.co.uk/oxford_b-a-bhuird.htm
3. https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/79201/Crash-Site-en-Remains-Airspeed-Oxford-PH404.htm
4. http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/scotland/ph404.html
5. http://www.archieraf.co.uk/scs/oxfordph404.html
6. https://heavywhalley.wordpress.com/2014/05/14/aircraft-crashes-on-the-cairngorms-part-1-ben-a-bhuird-the-oxford/
7. http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/01614.php
8. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.baaa-acro.com/1945/archives/crash-of-an-airspeed-as-10-oxford-in-glasgow-5-killed/]

High up on the northern slopes of Beinn a' Bhuird, Cairngorms, the remains of Airspeed Oxford PH404, crashed 10th January 1945.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
23-Apr-2008 11:36	Nepa	Added
13-Nov-2011 06:03	Nepa	Updated [Time, Operator, Source, Narrative]
09-Dec-2011 05:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
09-Dec-2011 05:41	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Narrative]
28-Dec-2011 14:20	Nepa	Updated [Operator]
03-Sep-2013 03:56	JINX	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
10-Oct-2013 15:21	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
28-Jul-2017 20:29	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
31-Jul-2017 20:13	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Embed code]
20-Oct-2022 16:02	Nepa	Updated [Location, Narrative, Operator]