I guess this is the Kinloss Anson/Whitley incident referred to earlier:
From what I've read about the Stirling crash, the scenario I imagine, is that the pilot lowered the flaps, and they only went down on one side. Rudder and/or aileron were applied to counteract the yaw, increasing the sink rate; power was applied but did not arrest the descent rate in time to prevent the ground getting in the way. If the flaps ere damaged by enemy fire its quite possible that one went down and wouldn't retract again. A fatigued pilot would only make things worse.
Anyone remember that Blenheim G-MKIV that crashed at Denham in 1987 a month after a 12 year rebuild? The pilot applied the power after a low pass, but the engines 'weren't paying attention' when he sent the message.