Buccaneer Accident - a real stretch

[Fonsini]

Your incredible combined knowledge of RAF and FAA events leads me to dredge up another long forgotten story in the vague hope that it may jingle a few bells.

Early in my career I was working for HM Customs and my fellow workers informed me of a colleague who was a bit "off". I was told that he had suffered a serious head injury that left him a little altered, nothing crazy, but he had sustained it while in HM forces and Customs always took such charity cases onboard without question and found something useful for them to do - I always admired that about them.

I eventually had the opportunity to meet with the gentleman concerned and I couldn't recite his name if you paid me, too many years and too many beers ago. He was indeed a little different but by no means bonkers, just sort of loud and excitable. He explained that he had been a rear seater in a Buccaneer that paid a visit to Davy Jones for reasons unexplained and that he and the pilot punched out. The rescue helo lowered the belt and he hooked on with no problem but forgot his training and removed his bone dome on the ride up. A gust of wind pulled him under the fixed gear and the winch promptly raised him head first right into it fracturing his skull and giving him some degree of brain damage. He proudly rapped his knuckles on his head and announced the presence of a steel plate.

This is probably the ultimate stretch, but I don't suppose there's a Bucc squadron pilot, back seater, helo crewman, or mechanic out there who recalls such an incident ?

I should add that I believe this was early in the Buccs career when it was flying off carriers.