L39 down @ Duxford

[Nige321]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/3119497.stm

[Flyin'Dutch']

That is very good news!

It happened as I was paying my landingfee @ Duxford. We saw her going in which is quite a discerning (and unfortunately not first experience for me)

Field was subsequently closed for a bit.

Happy to read this as it puts a completely different slant on the rest of the day.

Will be interesting to see what the investigations will come up with.

FD

[Man-on-the-fence]

Dutch

Did the pilot "climb out of the smouldering wreck" or pull the loud handles? (Sorry I came over all Journo then)

Glad all ok, I really feel for Duxford at the moment.

[Flyin'Dutch']

Heard the call and (obviously) left the tower so that they could get on with their bit. Then saw the L39 with gear down flying in a controlled manner and descending behind a small hill to the south.

That is it.

Just happy the guy is OK

FD

[Heliport]

AAIB Report into last year's L-39 crash has just been published. Link to Report and discussion of issues here (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=97653&referrerid=30158).

[Zlin526]

Nige,

The BBC website could only manage 2 paragraphs directly relating to this particular (and obviously minor) incident, but then go on to act like the News of the World and make it sound all dramatic and dangerous by rehashing old news from 2 previous accidents at DX. Tw@ts

Surprised they didnt make 'exclusive' claims that the pilot was a convicted terrorist asylum seeker who works as a mini cab driver illegally in his spare time, whilst also being involved in children smuggling from dodgy African nations.

Only a joke PJ!

[overstress]

Can anyone post a link to a site naming the pilot?

[Datcon]

Not sure which pilot you mean.

According to posts on Prune, the pilot of the L39 in the crash last year (AAIB report) was Mr Andy Gent.

According to the East Anglian Daily Press, the pilot of the L39 which suffered an EFATO last week was Mr Peter Jackson. AN AIRCRAFT featured in the opening scenes of the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies was left badly damaged after being forced to make an emergency landing on the Suffolk/Cambridge border.

The L39-Albatross Jet suffered total engine failure at 1,000 feet after taking off from Duxford Airfield on Saturday afternoon.

Its pilot, 59-year-old Peter Jackson, from Sevenoaks in Kent, was forced to make an emergency landing in fields at Rectory Farm, Ickleton, a mile south of the airfield.

The two-seater jet, formerly used for standard training by the Soviet military in the 1970s and 1980s, landed upright with its nose down causing its under carriage to partially collapse.

Mr Jackson walked away from the incident unhurt and the plane was collected by officials from the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, where it is usually kept.

The accident came just days after the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) recommended a review of current arrangements at Duxford Airfield to prevent aircraft landing or aborting take-offs from running onto the nearby M11 motorway.

The recommendation was made following an incident on June 2, 2002, when a former Soviet air force two-seat military jet trainer aircraft came to rest on the motorway after crashing through a perimeter fence. On that occasion pilot Gary Clarke 45, died as a result of the accident, but miraculously the plane did not collide with any vehicles despite skidding across the central reservation of the motorway.

Saturday's incident happened at around 3.20pm and Duxford's head of marketing Frank Crosby said: "An aircraft usually based the Imperial war Museum was forced to make an emergency landing at farmland near Ickleton, a mile south of the museum. Emergency services reached the scene within minutes and the pilot Peter Jackson, 59, had managed to get out of the aircraft."

He added that the L-39 Albatross, which featured in the opening scene of the James Bond blockbuster Tomorrow Never Dies, suffered total engine failure.

In addition to the airfield's emergency team getting to the scene, fire crews from Cambridgeshire also attended as a safety precaution, but did not need to take action.

The museum's director Ted Inman said: "Following the Firefly incident and understanding the concerns of local people we have set up a very deep review of safety precautions at Duxford.

"This latest incident is very different from the Firefly accident, but if we find anything to add to the review we will do so. We want to move forward very quickly and we expect to publish the findings of the review in the next month or two."

The AAIB have been informed of the latest incident.
Typical of the media to link last year's crash with this incident which looks as if the pilot handled perfectly. :mad:
Hats off to Mr Jackson for coping with the emergency safely and walking away from it. :ok:

[Dave Gittins]

I guess this is exactly what Duxford don't need. Saturday's "Weekend" section of the Daily Telegraph had Germaine Greer slagging off Duxford in her column.

I think the gist of it was that they were a less than responsible shower who delighted in terrorising her geese with a four engined Bomber.

[Flying Lawyer]

If anyone's interested in joining or reading a discussion about the issues raised in the AAIB report into last year's L39 crash, there's a thread in the Aircrew Notices forum.

There is/was also a good discussion in the Military Aircrew Forum but it was side-tracked and spoiled - not by Military pilots, I hasten to add!

See: Fast jets flown by non-military pilots. Is it safe?

FL

[ozplane]

Whether we like the way the media report this type of incident or not, as the case may be, it is unfortunately newsworthy. Particularly if you live in Ickleford. If you count the L-39 incident on the M11, there have been 3 incidents in the last year within a radius of about 2 miles. That would get anybody's attention.
One thing it does show is that the L-39 appears to be a really tough aircraft as the damage sustained in both incidents looked
repairable.

[Lizzie]

Three incidents within a 2 mile radius, eh? Tell you what, if you look closely I bet you will find an airfield near there......!!

[Toddington Ted]

Duxford's taking flak again from the Greer Woman! In last Saturday's (16 Aug) Telegraph in the quaintly named "Country Notebook" section, she has another go at heritage aviation. From the contents of her column, she seems to live in an area where all sorts of horrendous things happen to her and her livestock, still, makes good copy I guess.

I was particularly interested (perhaps not amused) in her comment regarding the Lancaster, "Duxford possesses a single Avro Lancaster bomber, which I know quite well. I see it quite often and from very close quarters...." Oh really? Well yes Duxford does possess a "single Avro Lancaster" but unless somethings happened recently it's still very much a static exhibit in the Superhangar! We all know that there are currently only 2 airworthy Lancasters in the World, 1 is in Canada and the other is based in Lincolnshire (oh yes, there is another that does superb taxi runs but she can't mean that one can she? Can someone write to this person (or the paper)and tell her to get her facts right? That said, "Never let facts get in the way of a good story" etc

[treadigraph]

I don't know how long Ms Greer has lived in the Duxford vicinity but I suspect it's not as long as tthe airfield has been a museum with airworthy exhibits.

Perhaps Ted Inman should invite her to the arifield one weekend and show her the collections, the care that goes into the restorations and the airworthy aircraft, and the enthusiasm of all involved and those who visit the site. And what the musuem is all about.

Perhaps then she might - just might - write with a more balanced view. And appreciate that it's because of aeroplanes like the Lancaster and the B-17 and their crews, et al, that she is free to write her column as she chooses.