F-111 loss, Upper Heyford 1992
 

I wonder if anyone knows details of an F-111 crash at UH in 1992? The aircraft had a problem on finals, and came down on the airfield perimeter, killing the crew (Capt Lindh and Major McGuire). The crew had stayed with the aircraft to avoid hitting the local village before attempting (unsuccessfully) to eject. There is a memorial to them at the site. What I don't know is what problem the jet had; was it a birdstrike or something else? I'm just interested to know - I was born and raised near UH, and the sight and sound of the F-111s during my youth inspired me to join the ATC and then the RAF!

Crashed and destroyed 17 September 1992. Crashed on landing RAF Upper Heyford Rwy 09. Unsuccessful ejection attempted after ground impact short of the threshold. The module had been damaged in the initial ground impact, and subsequently did not achieve sufficient altitude to permit proper parachute deployment. (info from Don Logan's F-111 Aardvark reference book.) FATAL. (Ben Marselis).
CAPT Jerry C. Lindh and MAJ D. Michael McGuire did not survive.



After awhile searching thats all I can find from here http://www.f-111.net/t_no_E.htm appears to be nothing on what occured from a quick search.

Good Luck

That's as much as I could find, Pedalz. There's some coverage here:

http://www.raf-upper-heyford.org/

with some newspaper cuttings, but no references to what was wrong with the jet.

I was there-- we were having my going-away luncheon at the Three Horseshoes when the planes were coming in that day. Being a communicator, I'm not up to speed on all of the aviator terms, but I'll do my best to describe what I witnessed that afternoon.

The pub, which you know sits at the west end of Camp Road, is within rock-throwing distance of the runway, though we preferred to throw rocks at the peace campers. A few of us were outside and away from the main group recounting my "war" stories when the planes were coming in for the day.

It was a typical day in the armpit of USAFE. A couple of pints, rattled teeth, and an F111 enhanced hangover headache. At least until the last plane came in on approach-- my supervisor remarked, "that doesn't sound healthy!"

Our attention was focused a little north of the village proper (Upper Heyford) on the plane coming in about 200 feet off of the ground. The jet was making a horrible sputtering noise and looked to barely be in control-- I can only describe it as a wobbly wing-flapping with the wing tips alternatively going +/- 25-30 degrees with the right wing dipping furthest.

Just after clearing the road that skirts the village (Somerset Road, I think), and about 100 feet in the air, the plane rolled almost 150 degrees to the right going almost fully inverted. There was a small explosion less than 2 seconds before the plane went in just over the perimeter fence and impacted in a field just south of the runway. It appeared to us that the crew ejection capsule had shot straight into the ground.

We were later told by a friend in the RAPCON that the pilot reported a total hydraulic failure during the approach pattern. Both crew members were killed instantly upon their capsule's impact.

Then A1C Darren Bahr, 2168th CS, RAF Upper Heyford
10 Oct 90 - 12 Oct 92

todmaerin;

Thanks for your input; most interesting and informative.