Originally Posted by
GANNET FAN
Yes agreed and apologies. I certainly had no intention of demeaning the accident. I was there as a child and actually remember the incident but was not aware it was a catastophic failure.
JC
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I saw this accident when I was a student. John Derry (of "Derry Turn" fame) had announced his arrival with a sonic boom before crossing the runway at a few hundred feet at high speed an pulling umpteen g. Just before crossing the runway the aircraft broke up. John Derry and his observer, still in their seats, hit the ground on the airfield. The two Avons followed a ballistic trajectory striking "the Hill" on which many spectators were gathered. Carnage. The display organisers, in order to distract the crowds and avoid panic, cleared Neville Duke, who was waiting to take off in his Hunter, to take off and do his thing. I think Duke and his Hunter held the air speed record at the time. He reappeared shortly afterwards in the lowest, fastest flypast I have seen either hitherto or since. Cool customer!
Analysis of amateur movies, frame by frame showed one of the wingtips to be the first bit to drop off the 110. All this was very much headline stuff in the era of the "battle with the sound barrier". A great tragedy - not a cock-up - although it was alleged that JD might have overstressed the DH110.
This accident was the origin of current air display rules governing distances and headings relative to the crowd line.