Harrier/SHAR down

[Archimedes]

According to the Beeb, either a SHAR or a GR7 has crashed off Ilfracombe (the BBC don't seem able to decide whether the aircraft is RN or RAF...). Pilot pulled out of the water by SAR helo; report seems to imply that he's OK.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/2982112.stm

[teeteringhead]

Was a SHAR en route from St Athan to VL.

[sarboy w****r]

Pilot was picked up by a Sea King from Chivenor. Initial reports are he's ok.

[WE Branch Fanatic]

Local TV (used to be called Westcountry, but now part of Carlton) reported that he had only minor injuries, fortunately. Also he was only in the water for a short time.

Well done to the guys from 22 sqn for getting him out so fast.

Also well done the defence correspondent who shot the line "Isn't this always happening with Harriers?" remark from the studio down.

[moggie]

Glad he got out OK - one less to scrap/sell to the Thais/put in a museum.

[Throttle Pusher]

According to the MOD Oracle it was a RAF Harrier

http://www.modoracle.com/news/detail.h2f?id=2607

[Archimedes]

Which is why the accompanying picture is of an 899 T.8...

Cracking display by the PR team! :rolleyes:

[DamienB]

You're all wrong. It was an American Harrier:

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-12345679,00.html

:rolleyes:

[[email protected]]

He was on an airtest on a jet that had been in St Athan for a few months, went to carry out stall checks and ended up in a spin. After 3 attempts to recover and approaching pre briefed minima (10,000') he took the Martin Baker option and watched the jet spin itself into the Bristol channel 8 nm N of Bull Point.
He ejected at approximately 1450 A and was in the helicopter by 1505 and at Barnstaple Hospital at 1515.
A true professional, he used his smoke flare to aid in locating him and was sitting in his dinghy with his beckets in one hand and the Martin Baker clip in the other - just like the CSRO tells you!
Despite the best cockups of the media, especially teletext who got it completely wrong - it was a RN Sea Harrier that crashed and an RAF SAR crew that picked him up.
He was later transferred to RNAS Yeovilton where the SAR aircraft went u/s with a hydraulic leak and the SAR crew returned to Chiv by a junglie crew from 848 NAS (many thanks chaps).

To paraphrase Max Boyce ' I know 'cos I was there'.

[WE Branch Fanatic]

Good local reporting here....

http://62.189.74.93/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=103354&command=displayContent&sourceNode=103331&contentPK=5991615

Additional comments in response the the posting below:

I didn't see the BBC South West news so I cannot comment on that. However, John Andrews, the defence correspondent on "Carlton" did give a fairly balanced report without falling into the usual "this is always happening" trap.

I must confess I posted the link only because of the chap from Janes saying the Sea Harrier has a good safety record, and because I was slighty intrigued by the "according to the Royal Navy..... " bit - they are not the sort of comments likely to welcomed by the MOD Ministers. :ok:

As for the views expressed by locals, well they wouldn't print it if you said something like "Oh well, it happens, no harm done", would they?

[[email protected]]

Unfortunately, they and the BBC local news have turned this story into another "Oh my God we were so lucky to escape, all this low flying is just an accident waiting to happen" which is frankly not very helpful and will probably generate more low flying complaints and more restrictions on LF in the UK.
They completely miss the point that he was carrying out the airtest over the sea away from land and habitation so that if it went wrong the jet would crash where it would do little damage.
I don't think the residents of Morthoe understand that the majority of their holiday customers (on whom they rely for a living) actually like seeing military hardware in the skies around them.