[RSwank]

Leendert,
Thanks for the info on Skelton. From the description of him being found in a field with no mention of wreckage suggests to me the possibility of a parachute failure.

Assuming they were flying to the west and the plane was set on autopilot during the bail out, I suppose it is possible the plane made it out to sea before crashing. (Although if the plane was not controllable by the pilot it probably could not be controlled by the autopilot either.)

Rolland