Thomas Volkman was Bombardier on board of B-24 #42-50898 which took off from Old Buckenham for the 27 December 1944 mission to Germany. The Liberator crashed just at end of the slippery runway and immediately caught fire. Approximately 5 minutes later, the bombs went off and completely destroyed the plane. Pilot Roscoe C. Brown, Co-Pilot Russell C. Anderson, Bombardier Thomas F. Volkman and Navigator Charles D. Todd, as well as two Sergents were killed. The 4 surviving crew members were in the waist section of the plane and were in such physical condition that their evidence was of no benefit in determining the cause of the incident.

Diary notes from another airman in a separate aircraft indicate that there was icing on the runway that morning, with straw laid down for traction. There was also icing on the wings and the pitot tube, which would cause reduced lift in the former and incorrect airspeed readings in the latter. A combination of the two will result in a stall event and a subsequent mishap. That appears to be what happened in the fate of aircraft 42-50898 and her crew with 1st Lt Roscoe Brown as pilot and Mission Commander. #42-50898 was a pathfinder aircraft, meaning it had radar to find targets in bad weather and would normally be the lead aircraft on takeoff, which it was on that fateful morning of 27 December 1944.