Shortly after daybreak, on a blustery winter morning in 1944, two Hurricane fighters roared down the runway at Gander and took to the air. The aircraft from 126 R.C.A.F. Squadron were engaged in a routine "dawn patrol" on which they would overfly a number of locations within a 25 to 30 mile radius of the airport.

As they circled the base, P/O Lobb the section leader in aircraft 5668 contacted Gander Sector Control, and was given a course to steer for Deer Pond, 25 miles south of Gander Lake and their first "patrol point". P/O Dickinson the pilot of the second Hurricane, tucked his aircraft into position, about two wing lengths away and slightly behind the leader.

There was a high overcast at Gander but as they flew south the weather worsened in snow showers. Visibility decreased rapidly but they continued on until it became almost impossible to distinguish between the snow covered ground and the horizon. Lobb called sector control and requested a new vector which would take them into clearer weather.

Sector control gave a new heading for Lewisporte which Lobb acknowledged. Asked by sector what was the visibility at that time he replied "zero zero zero".

As they commenced the turn Dickinson found himself in a spiral dive, and in correcting, lost sight of the leader. He decided to climb and as he did so, he made repeated attempts to contact Lobb, suggesting he also climb. There was no reply to his transmissions or from those of sector control, and after breaking out of the overcast at 8,500 feet he returned to Gander.

The aircraft wreckage was located when the weather cleared late that afternoon and the following morning a ski equipped Norseman made a landing on the marsh near the crash. Among those on board was F/L Taylor the Squadron Engineering Officer, who made the following statement to the Board of Inquiry that investigated the accident.

"The ac on striking the ground had dug a hole approximately 20 feet long and 6 or 7 feet deep.. it had come from a southerly direction and appeared due to the size of the hole that it was under flying power. The engine was flung from its mounting and dug itself into the marshland and the aircraft had turned over and spread itself over an area of approximately 100 yards- (unreadable)........ the aircraft although completely wrecked did not burn. The flying suit remained on the body. It appeared to be that the aircraft had been flown right into the ground due to the lack of visibility in bad weather. The snow covered marsh facing the direction the aircraft was going would easily deceive the pilot when flying in heavy snow with no horizon"

F/L McCarthy the senior the senior flight commander of 126 Squadron also appeared as a witness before the board. A excerpt of his statement reads as follows :

"In my opinion it (the crash) was caused by loss of control while on instruments".

P/O Lobb's body was recovered and taken back to Gander where it was buried with full military honours at the RCAF Cemetery on 6th February 1944.

His promotion to Flying Officer had been promulgated but not received at unit level at the time of his death. Details of F/O Lobb as contained in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records read as follows:
 

LOBB, Flying Offr, Kenneth Alfred. J/26389, R.C.A.F. 3rd February, 1944. Age 21. son of Alfred H. Lobb and Edith Lobb, of Montreal, Province of Quebec. Plot 1, Row 1, Grave 5.