Ref Post No 5:
I was serving with 24 Sqn at Colerne when this accident happened to a 36 Sqn a/c from the same base.
I do not recall hearing of a PJI throwing jumpers out of the door all the way to the ground. It would certainly have made the headlines, had it happened, as the accident was all over the news at the time.
In my opinion, there was insufficient warning of the event for the crew to initiate abandonment of the aircraft. The failure of the elevator bolts was so sudden and the severe gyrations of the aircraft, completely out of control, would have made it impossible to move to the para door and jump, let alone organise such an event.
From Wikipedia:
The Hastings took off from Abingdon about 1600 hrs. One eyewitness reported it flying in company with two RAF Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy heavy transport aircraft. Eyewitnesses in the village of Berinsfieldreported seeing it fly over, then lose height or dive. They reported the aircraft "weaving from side to side", "its wings wiggled" or "its tail wobbled" before the Hastings climbed steeply out of control. It then fell with all four engines still running and crashed into a field at Little Baldon called Hundred Acres,[3][4] about 4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) east of Abingdon and 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Oxford. The aircraft hit the ground on its back and burst into a ball of flame,[3] killing all six crew and all 35 passengers. It was reported from RAF Abingdon that the pilot, Flight Lieutenant John Akin, had radioed that his aircraft was having control trouble[5] before the radio went dead.[4]