Utterly amazes me.......... so many half wit replies and suggestions
Some of you poor sky gods would be useless without your navaids, tcas, etc - Maybe this is just a really rare, really unfortunate case of LOW WINTER SUN and BLIND SPOTS....!
Im lucky to still be here, after a flight 10 years ago that nearly ended up with me being impalled by the 2 seat Jaguar from Boscombe Down.
Flying my Super Cub from Yeovil back to Bournemouth, straight and level talking and squawking to Yeovilton - luckily every couple of mins since i have been aviating i roll my wings in a little waggle effect to see if anyone is coming at me from right angles inc high or low both sides - that day it saved my life - just....!!! Closing fast along the right leading edge absolute 90 degrees to my direction is a fast jet - me 80kts - him 360kts - $ollocks this is going to be close - i know, i will show him a plan view of the Super Cub and he will pull right and climb - no sweat me thinks...!!
Now being a gliding instructor and knowing how to teach people to tickle weak thermals i know how to haul an a/c around - but on this instance to no avail - ok time for another roll reversal this is getting uncomfortable...... to no avail... staring on recover to wings level just about to impact i pushed very hard and left......
The noise, fear and andrelin i will never lose - and it is as vivid as the day it happened... - i manage to recover the aircraft without overstressing it, and then see the Jag pulling hard right to come back around - he came past higher and waggled his wings and i did also - no words, nothing but we both knew it was a close call - I called yeovilton to say thanks for telling me about the jag - they said "What Jag" - great - but i knew there was only 1 raspberry ripple jag - so thought i would call when i got back to HH.
Called on the phone to Boscombe ops and asked if the jag was back - it was just on finals - the instructor called me within 30 mins - i answered the phone and an amercan accent came down the line - "that was a nice Super Cub you got there....... That was very close and i sincerely apologise he said.. we were both head down planning the recovery to Boscombe and only saw you the split second your starboard wing went under our port..
Sorry bought that.........
He apologised, i learnt about flying from that - and lookout is the thing that should save you from rare events like this thread.....
condolences to families involved - but heads up not down...........!!
clearly AAIB will do its stuff - but looks on the outside to be just a terribly rare case of wrong place, wrong time....... sad but part of life..