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Old 13th Jul 2003, 18:15
  #25 (permalink)  
BEagle
 
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Quite near 'An aerodrome somewhere in England'
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The video footage on Sky News shows the ac entering a rolling manoeuvre to the right following a fairly gentle climbing turn. At approx 120 deg of roll, the attitude is virtually level, but the nose begins to drop below the horizon at an increasing rate. In the next 60 deg of roll, the attitude becomes progressively steeper; at the inverted position it is almost 45 deg nose low. The roll to the right continues, with the roll rate decreasing markedly until the ac is pointing vertically downwards. Then, after a brief hesitation, the roll direction reverses and the ac rolls through approximately 180 deg in the vertical; in the latter stages of the roll the pitch attitude starts to reduce, although it is still in excess of 45 deg below the horizon when the roll is completed. The ac then pitches further towards the horizon with noticeable wing rock before impacting the ground in a shallow, wings level attitude at a high rate of descent.

That is a description of the video; it is NOT a comment upon the cause of the accident. That is the responsibility of the accident investigators, not armchair theorists. Condolences to the families and friends of the deceased; the volunteers of the RNHF keep naval aviation heritage alive on what is a tiny budget and this tragedy should not be allowed to put the future of the Flight in any doubt.
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