 While Scharff was on leave in late 1943, Weyland and Schröder went up in a Fieseler Storch aircraft with a Luftwaffe fighter pilot from the Kampfgeschwader 27 unit at Eschborn Airbase.The aircraft's engine malfunctioned, and the plane crashed, killing the pilot and Schröder, and mortally injuring Weyland.The accident prompted Barth to promote Scharff to interrogation officer over the USAAF Fighter Section; he was also officially transferred from the Army to the Luftwaffe at that time but was not promoted in rank.