Cpr. Chętnicki belonged to the crew of the Lancaster I BH-U (NG501), shot down on March 2, 1945 during an air raid on Cologne.
The machine hit by anti-aircraft artillery fell after completing the task, but still over the target. The plane crashed in flames in the area of Zulpicherstraße and Vottfriedstraße. Apart from Chętnicki, the following people died in the wreckage: Lt. pil. Władysław Wyganowski, Cpl. obs. Edmund Kulikowski, 2nd Lt. bombs. Józef Babiarz, Cpl. x-ray. Jan Horobiowski and Cpl. shooter Bolesław Filipiak. The last crew member, a platoon. down. col. Jacek Filek, jumped on a parachute, but was murdered by the Germans on the ground.
The remaining airmen were buried in various cemeteries in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
