A group climbed up North Barrule at the weekend to commemorate 31 people who died when their plane crashed there in 1945.

The ceremony is held annually on the anniversary of the crash and involves the flying of the American flag as those who died were American servicemen.

Sixteen people, from the age of eight up to 89, took part in the event 1,600 feet up the slopes of North Barrule on Sunday, organised by Maughold Social Club.

Mike Corlett, an aviation archaeologist from Laxey, visits the site every year and plants the flag next to the remains of the Flying Fortress wreckage.

He first visited the site three days after the crash happened at the age of 11, cycling from Laxey to look for ‘treasure’. The 89-year-old says he only wanted to find bullets.

A memorial plaque was erected in 1995 at the site by stone mason Mark Cubbon, funded by Maughold Commissioners and the Manx Aviation Preservation Society.

This year’s ceremony included reading out the names of all who perished on April 23, 1945 at the plaque.

The aircraft was travelling from Ridgewell, Essex to Nutt’s Corner, Northern Ireland.

Chosen for the flight was a B17G 43-38856 ‘GD-M’. It was to be flown by Captain Charles E. Ackerman, a 22-year-old veteran combat officer with more than 455 hours of experience on B17s.

The aircraft was to be co-piloted by 20-year-old flight officer Edwin A. Hutcheson, with 61 hours of experience on the B17.

It lifted off at 8am and was estimated for arrival at 11am, but at around 10.20am the plane was seen by tractor driver Harold Ennett, who was working at Margher-e-Kew Farm, Ramsey.

He estimated its height at no more than 500ft. He could clearly see the star on its wing as it passed over.

The Manx Aviation and Military Museum said: ‘He stared at it in terror as he realised it was flying straight towards the mist-covered slopes of North Barrule.

‘He lost sight of it after a few seconds as it disappeared into the mist.

‘Moments later, Mr Ennett heard a terrific explosion. He dropped back into his tractor seat and bowed his head. He knew exactly what had happened.’

At approximately 10.25am the B17 had struck the east side of North Barrule.

‘One of the first RAF officers to arrive at the crash site was Flight Lieutenant Joseph Jackson, a medical officer from Andreas,’ the museum noted. ‘The sight that met him was one of total devastation.

‘The only recognisable part of the aircraft was a section of the tail, the rest of it was scattered over a fire-blackened hillside.’

The men who died on North Barrule were buried on April 27, 1945 at the American Military Cemetery at Madingley near Cambridge.

It was the largest funeral ever seen there and 17 truckloads of men from Ridgewell attended.

According to the museum, this still is the worst aircraft accident in the island’s history, with the loss of 31 lives.