During the night of 16 to 17 June, 1943, around 01:00 hours, a Lancaster bomber exploded in mid air over the hamlet of Grote Heide in the municipality of Neerpelt. The bits and pieces were blown apart over a large area that borders to the nature reserve Hageven. All seven crewmembers perished.
The four engined Lancaster ED629 PH-K of nr 12 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force was carrying approximately 4000 kilograms of bombs. The aircraft had taken off from the airport of Wickenby in Lincolnshire together with 15 other bombers. Their mission was to bomb Cologne. That night the attack on Cologne was carried out by 220 aircraft from the RAF.