THE remains of a Halifax bomber involved in a fatal crash on a hillside in the Western Isles have begun a final journey to a Canadian air museum.

The undercarriage found on Harris is heading for the Royal Canadian Air Force Memorial Museum in Trenton, Ontario. The 6ft assembly, thought to be the last such example in the world, will be used to help complete a specimen of the famous Handley Page aircraft recovered from a Norwegian lake.

A Sea King helicopter lifted the assembly on Wednesday and took it to the naval base at Prestwick from where it will be flown across the Atlantic.

The Halifax, which was based on Lewis, crashed on April 9, 1945. The pilot apparently became disorientated in bad weather and a crew member died when it failed to clear the hill.