Stolen military aircraft
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The Voyager fleet is said to be transferable to Civil use, takes some time, I think the point is as a Civil airliner it is required after 9/11 to have a locked cabin door, so the question is as part of the change of use process is it necessary to change the door and take power off the cockpit door release circuits?
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My question would actually be, why should it have a different protocol to any other A330? The last five pages demonstrate fairly convincingly that military aircraft are no more immune to unlawful interference than any other realm of aviation. The worst US act of terror prior to 9/11 was committed by a former soldier and many of the 7/7 bombers would have been entitled to serve.
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Stolen aircraft
Back when I worked, possibly around 1985, we had a computer
engineer who was reputed to have stolen a Dutch military
aircraft. He was a bit of of hard nut. Apparently when signing up
he had been promised a pilot role. When this did not eventuate
he just helped himself. What aircraft ? No recollection.
He eventually got off as it was provable that he had been
promised pilot training. Obviously this was in Holland.
engineer who was reputed to have stolen a Dutch military
aircraft. He was a bit of of hard nut. Apparently when signing up
he had been promised a pilot role. When this did not eventuate
he just helped himself. What aircraft ? No recollection.
He eventually got off as it was provable that he had been
promised pilot training. Obviously this was in Holland.
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Location: Rockytop, Tennessee, USA
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My take on Foote? His biographic profile seems to shout "spoiled rich brat wasting his parents' money who refuses to take responsibility for his own recklessness". He's spent the past near-30 years of his life as a second-rate scam artist and con man, and after all these years, still refuses to grow up. Do a search for other LA Times citations concerning Foote. I'd say the United States Marine Corps got Foote's number back in 1986 when they essentially told him to have a long walk off a short pier.
I see a Darwin in Foote's remaining future. He earned it 30 years ago, the committee simply hasn't presented it to him yet.
The Tale Of When A Marine Mechanic Stole An A-4 Skyhawk For A Joyride Over California
Foote has a web page for a Chinese helicopter tour operation. His 'Board of Directors' includes two retired USAF F-4 pilots:
HAF Industries
A couple of the LA Times articles about Foote:
All Counts Dropped Against Marine for Jet Fighter Joy Ride - latimes
Airing His Ideas : Howard Foote Once Took a Marine Jet for a Joy Ride, but What He's Attempting Now Is No Flight of Fancy - latimes
Back when I worked, possibly around 1985, we had a computer
engineer who was reputed to have stolen a Dutch military
aircraft. He was a bit of of hard nut. Apparently when signing up
he had been promised a pilot role. When this did not eventuate
he just helped himself. What aircraft ? No recollection.
He eventually got off as it was provable that he had been
promised pilot training. Obviously this was in Holland.
engineer who was reputed to have stolen a Dutch military
aircraft. He was a bit of of hard nut. Apparently when signing up
he had been promised a pilot role. When this did not eventuate
he just helped himself. What aircraft ? No recollection.
He eventually got off as it was provable that he had been
promised pilot training. Obviously this was in Holland.
According to the link in that post, Mr. van Eijck was in training for pilot when he voiced his opinions about the Dutch Navy a bit too loudly and was demoted to enlisted rank. He then wanted to get out of the Navy but the terms in his contract meant that he had to complete the time. He then proceeded to steal the Grumman Tracker from Malta and flew it to Libya. He spent a month in the country and started to realise that his new life wasn't what he was hoping for, accepted the option to return to Holland where he had to spend a year in jail. I understand that he later emigrated to the US.
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In 1969, a C130 crew chief at Mildenhall took 'his'aircraft after receiving a 'Dear John'letter from his wife. He headed west apparently intending to fly it to the US, but crashed in the English Channel somewhere off the Channel Islands. It appears that F100s were scrambled form Lakenheath to intercept him, as to whether they shot him down, it's not been proved.
In 1969, an airman crashed a stolen C-130 into the English Channel. Now divers want to find the plane
By WILLIAM HOWARD | STARS AND STRIPES
Published: April 3, 2018
RAF MILDENHALL, England — Almost 50 years ago Sgt. Paul Adams Meyer, a U.S. Air Force assistant crew chief, got drunk, impersonated an officer and stole a C-130 Hercules from RAF Mildenhall in England so he could fly home to his new wife. Two hours later he crashed into the English Channel.
Now a team of British divers called Deeper Dorset hopes to raise 6,000 pounds ($8,430) on an all-or-nothing Kickstarter to find the plane and uncover the truth behind the crash.
The divers have until April 11 to meet their fund-raising goal or go back to the drawing board.
“We’ve known about the Hercules story for about 10 years, and it’s one of those stories that grabs the imagination,” said Deeper Dorset photographer Simon Brown. “It’s a human tale as much as research of as to where it is.”
What happened to Meyer has been subject to rumor and speculation for nearly half a century.
An Air Force investigation found that at least two U.S. F-100 Super Sabre fighter jets from RAF Lakenheath, a C-130 from Mildenhall and two RAF English Electric Lightning interceptors attempted contact with Meyers before he crashed into the English Channel near Alderney Island.
“Leave me alone for about five minutes, I’ve got trouble,” Meyer said in his final transmission to his wife in a link-up over the sideband radio.
Members of Deeper Dorset believe they can locate the missing Hercules using existing research, sonar and photogrammetry, a technique that builds 3-D models of wreckage.
“We’ve nailed down where we think the aircraft might be within a 10-square-mile box,” Brown said. “Within that box there’s five hot spots. Places where people have reported losing fishing gear or snagging something, and those kinds of snags are usually man-made.”
The diving team’s previous successes include locating La Mahenge, an 8,000-ton cargo ship found 120 meters deep in the English Channel, and a British M1 submarine found 81 meters deep in waters off the port of Plymouth.
The Kickstarter goal covers running costs of 25 days at sea, which is about a year of searching, taking into consideration weather and tides.
“I think this project is too interesting to just let it pass, and with the Kickstarter goal it can happen sooner and we’ll be able to share more about what we find,” Brown said.
For more information or to donate, go to kickstarter.com/projects/979818757/finding-meyers-missing-hercules.
By WILLIAM HOWARD | STARS AND STRIPES
Published: April 3, 2018
RAF MILDENHALL, England — Almost 50 years ago Sgt. Paul Adams Meyer, a U.S. Air Force assistant crew chief, got drunk, impersonated an officer and stole a C-130 Hercules from RAF Mildenhall in England so he could fly home to his new wife. Two hours later he crashed into the English Channel.
Now a team of British divers called Deeper Dorset hopes to raise 6,000 pounds ($8,430) on an all-or-nothing Kickstarter to find the plane and uncover the truth behind the crash.
The divers have until April 11 to meet their fund-raising goal or go back to the drawing board.
“We’ve known about the Hercules story for about 10 years, and it’s one of those stories that grabs the imagination,” said Deeper Dorset photographer Simon Brown. “It’s a human tale as much as research of as to where it is.”
What happened to Meyer has been subject to rumor and speculation for nearly half a century.
An Air Force investigation found that at least two U.S. F-100 Super Sabre fighter jets from RAF Lakenheath, a C-130 from Mildenhall and two RAF English Electric Lightning interceptors attempted contact with Meyers before he crashed into the English Channel near Alderney Island.
“Leave me alone for about five minutes, I’ve got trouble,” Meyer said in his final transmission to his wife in a link-up over the sideband radio.
Members of Deeper Dorset believe they can locate the missing Hercules using existing research, sonar and photogrammetry, a technique that builds 3-D models of wreckage.
“We’ve nailed down where we think the aircraft might be within a 10-square-mile box,” Brown said. “Within that box there’s five hot spots. Places where people have reported losing fishing gear or snagging something, and those kinds of snags are usually man-made.”
The diving team’s previous successes include locating La Mahenge, an 8,000-ton cargo ship found 120 meters deep in the English Channel, and a British M1 submarine found 81 meters deep in waters off the port of Plymouth.
The Kickstarter goal covers running costs of 25 days at sea, which is about a year of searching, taking into consideration weather and tides.
“I think this project is too interesting to just let it pass, and with the Kickstarter goal it can happen sooner and we’ll be able to share more about what we find,” Brown said.
For more information or to donate, go to kickstarter.com/projects/979818757/finding-meyers-missing-hercules.
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Stolen C130 story on Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show.
Apologies if this has been discussed before.
Jeremy Vine today discussed the old story of the USAF mechanic who "stole" a C130 in the 1960's, took off to fly home and disappeared without trace.
He played a dramatized transcript of his radio conversation between him and his wife.
He then went on to discuss the possibility of the aircraft being shot down.
The interesting part though, was a gentleman who called in to say that he had been an armourer at Wattisham at the time and remembered that two QRA Lightnings were scrambled, albeit separately, to investigate, but with no results. He went on to say however, that he had been talking about the incident with a colleague he was on a course with. His colleague related the story of a Hunter, flown by a "senior pilot" (his words), being scrambled from Chivenor to investigate the same aircraft. Upon his return, his ammunition boxes were supposedly empty and the gun camera was taken away. He added that the pilot was also taken away in a vehicle and was never seen on the station again,
supposedly having been posted.
An interesting story, Lord knows if there's any truth in it.
Can anyone shed any further light on it?
Jeremy Vine today discussed the old story of the USAF mechanic who "stole" a C130 in the 1960's, took off to fly home and disappeared without trace.
He played a dramatized transcript of his radio conversation between him and his wife.
He then went on to discuss the possibility of the aircraft being shot down.
The interesting part though, was a gentleman who called in to say that he had been an armourer at Wattisham at the time and remembered that two QRA Lightnings were scrambled, albeit separately, to investigate, but with no results. He went on to say however, that he had been talking about the incident with a colleague he was on a course with. His colleague related the story of a Hunter, flown by a "senior pilot" (his words), being scrambled from Chivenor to investigate the same aircraft. Upon his return, his ammunition boxes were supposedly empty and the gun camera was taken away. He added that the pilot was also taken away in a vehicle and was never seen on the station again,
supposedly having been posted.
An interesting story, Lord knows if there's any truth in it.
Can anyone shed any further light on it?
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Featured in the Jersey Evening Post a week or so ago. Apparently some divers are going to explore near Alderney.
A very similar story relates to a Javelin from Tengah sent to 'investigate', three Indonesian Air Force C130s dropping parachutists at Labis in Malaya in September 1964. So the story goes, the jet returned with a missile missing and it was later learned that one C130 had come down in the Straits of Mallacca. The crew was led by the Indonesian Foreign Minister's son (Dr Subandrio).
As for the parachutists most, except for the mysterious 'Sgt Maj Wogiman' were killed or captured - perhaps he's still hanging from a tree somewhere in his parachute! It got a bit messy 'cause having supposedly surrendered, the Indons shot dead the Company Commander and the Gurkhas were somewhat vexed by this!
Old Duffer
As for the parachutists most, except for the mysterious 'Sgt Maj Wogiman' were killed or captured - perhaps he's still hanging from a tree somewhere in his parachute! It got a bit messy 'cause having supposedly surrendered, the Indons shot dead the Company Commander and the Gurkhas were somewhat vexed by this!
Old Duffer
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I do recall going through it a couple of years ago, but yesterday's radio programme was the first time I'd heard about the Chivenor Hunter involvement.
Last edited by cngaero; 26th May 2018 at 00:01.
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Many servicemen active in the 60s were aware of the basic tale regarding the stolen C-130. However, the addition of the Chivenor element is a new one to me. I had the good fortune to serve at Chivenor as a "senior pilot" (I assume this refers to either Sqn Ldr or Wg Cdr rank) for two tours (as Squadron Commander and OC Flying) but never heard any whisper of a Hunter involvement. Moreover, Hunters operating with guns armed was a daily event with both air to air and air to ground training a major proportion of the training syllabus. Hunters departing with guns armed and returning with magazines empty was a regular feature of the flying programme and any pilot returning from such a sortie removed the film magazine from the film camera as he climbed out.
As for the "senior pilot" being driven away and never seen again I can offer more explanation. At the end of a tour most pilots flew a final sortie of choice and many chose a weapons practice with guns armed. On return it was not unusual for the pilot to be met by car and driven off (usually to the Mess for farewell drinks) and I find this a more practical explanation for the tale.
As for the "senior pilot" being driven away and never seen again I can offer more explanation. At the end of a tour most pilots flew a final sortie of choice and many chose a weapons practice with guns armed. On return it was not unusual for the pilot to be met by car and driven off (usually to the Mess for farewell drinks) and I find this a more practical explanation for the tale.
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Many servicemen active in the 60s were aware of the basic tale regarding the stolen C-130. However, the addition of the Chivenor element is a new one to me. I had the good fortune to serve at Chivenor as a "senior pilot" (I assume this refers to either Sqn Ldr or Wg Cdr rank) for two tours (as Squadron Commander and OC Flying) but never heard any whisper of a Hunter involvement. Moreover, Hunters operating with guns armed was a daily event with both air to air and air to ground training a major proportion of the training syllabus. Hunters departing with guns armed and returning with magazines empty was a regular feature of the flying programme and any pilot returning from such a sortie removed the film magazine from the film camera as he climbed out.
As for the "senior pilot" being driven away and never seen again I can offer more explanation. At the end of a tour most pilots flew a final sortie of choice and many chose a weapons practice with guns armed. On return it was not unusual for the pilot to be met by car and driven off (usually to the Mess for farewell drinks) and I find this a more practical explanation for the tale.
As for the "senior pilot" being driven away and never seen again I can offer more explanation. At the end of a tour most pilots flew a final sortie of choice and many chose a weapons practice with guns armed. On return it was not unusual for the pilot to be met by car and driven off (usually to the Mess for farewell drinks) and I find this a more practical explanation for the tale.
The gentleman on the radio did say that it was only what he had been told, but did admit that he could offer no corroborative evidence to the event.
As you have held such a position on the same airfield, I have to agree that your explanation carries much more credibility.
Thanks once again.
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Read Lighting Boys 1 Chapt 7
Suggest you read Richard Pike’s, Lightning Boys 1, Chapter 7 ULP! told by Rick Groombridge, see pages 52 and 53. As one of the 29 Sqdn ground crew at that time, I knew Flt Lt Groombridge and I have no reason to doubt anything he writes.
***
PS - I should also add that Flt Lt Pike ie the Author of Lighting Boys 1 & 2 also served on 29 Sqdn in 1968/9.
PS - 2 The 29 Sqdn Ground crew manning the QRA aircraft at that time should be able to answer the following questions. The 6/8 Engineers manning the QRA Sheds must have some knowledge of events - If it happened? While they could replace the Pilot with a USAF Exchange Pilot, the QRA ground crew could not be replaced.
- Was an Aircraft scrambled?
- Who was the Pilot?
- How long was it away / airborne
- Did they observe it landing, and what happened next. At best without in flight refuelling, it could only be away 40
minutes? Were tankers scrambled in support?
***
***
PS - I should also add that Flt Lt Pike ie the Author of Lighting Boys 1 & 2 also served on 29 Sqdn in 1968/9.
PS - 2 The 29 Sqdn Ground crew manning the QRA aircraft at that time should be able to answer the following questions. The 6/8 Engineers manning the QRA Sheds must have some knowledge of events - If it happened? While they could replace the Pilot with a USAF Exchange Pilot, the QRA ground crew could not be replaced.
- Was an Aircraft scrambled?
- Who was the Pilot?
- How long was it away / airborne
- Did they observe it landing, and what happened next. At best without in flight refuelling, it could only be away 40
minutes? Were tankers scrambled in support?
***
Last edited by orionsbelt; 26th May 2018 at 08:58. Reason: Addition of PS 2
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Suggest you read Richard Pike’s, Lightning Boys 1, Chapter 7 ULP! told by Rick Groombridge, see pages 52 and 53. As one of the 29 Sqdn ground crew at that time, I knew Flt Lt Groombridge and I have no reason to doubt anything he writes.
***
PS - I should also add that Flt Lt Pike ie the Author of Lighting Boys 1 & 2 also served on 29 Sqdn in 1968/9.
***
PS - I should also add that Flt Lt Pike ie the Author of Lighting Boys 1 & 2 also served on 29 Sqdn in 1968/9.
The stolen C130 story seems to reoccurr every few months on https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bf4cw1 BBC radio PM programme. Today's episode is available for around 29 days. The relevant article starts around 00:51:30 and lasts for about 6 minutes.
Was it really possible that an Unqualified pilot on type, would have been able to operate a C130 for over 2 hours without assistance ?
I thought that a C130 needs a crew of 3 or 4 minimum.
If he really did steal that aircraft, wouldn't he have needed at least one accomplice ?
I understand that he was reported to have a few hundred hours experience in private flying.
Also most of the stories that I have read don't give much detail about his work experience and skills in the USAF, does anyone know if this story is really true ?
Was it really possible that an Unqualified pilot on type, would have been able to operate a C130 for over 2 hours without assistance ?
I thought that a C130 needs a crew of 3 or 4 minimum.
If he really did steal that aircraft, wouldn't he have needed at least one accomplice ?
I understand that he was reported to have a few hundred hours experience in private flying.
Also most of the stories that I have read don't give much detail about his work experience and skills in the USAF, does anyone know if this story is really true ?
Last edited by kit344; 17th Aug 2018 at 20:20.
Not quite the same, but surely you have to differentiate between simply "flying" the aircraft and "operating" it.
A good analogy might be Air Transport Auxiliary pilots who regularly flew four engined bombers such as Lancasters and Halifaxes etc. In addition to the first pilot these normally required a flight engineer/second pilot, navigator, signaller and sundry air gunners etc on operations, but for a simple delivery flight a competent pilot, even with little experience of multi - engined flying could manage the job himself (or herself). Admittedly these were qualified pilots, but the man in his case had a few hundred hours in private flying, and as an assistant crew chief he would have acquired a lot of knowledge about the type. He would almost certainly be familiar with engine starts, and may even have been required to taxi aircraft on occasion.
I find the story entirely credible, but not the various rumours of the aircaft being shot down, either by RAF or USAF fighters. Post 9/11 I could quite believe this happening, but not at that time - what would the point have been? I think the truth is a lot more boring. He became disorientated or simply stalled and flew into the sea. But I doubt if we will ever know for sure.
A good analogy might be Air Transport Auxiliary pilots who regularly flew four engined bombers such as Lancasters and Halifaxes etc. In addition to the first pilot these normally required a flight engineer/second pilot, navigator, signaller and sundry air gunners etc on operations, but for a simple delivery flight a competent pilot, even with little experience of multi - engined flying could manage the job himself (or herself). Admittedly these were qualified pilots, but the man in his case had a few hundred hours in private flying, and as an assistant crew chief he would have acquired a lot of knowledge about the type. He would almost certainly be familiar with engine starts, and may even have been required to taxi aircraft on occasion.
I find the story entirely credible, but not the various rumours of the aircaft being shot down, either by RAF or USAF fighters. Post 9/11 I could quite believe this happening, but not at that time - what would the point have been? I think the truth is a lot more boring. He became disorientated or simply stalled and flew into the sea. But I doubt if we will ever know for sure.
Last edited by Tankertrashnav; 18th Aug 2018 at 10:36.
Does anyone have any knowledge of or information on a pilot defecting in a MiG 23 from Iraq to Jordan? There is a reason for me asking and I cannot find any data on this online. I am happy to discuss my interest in this via a PM.
Rgds
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Rgds
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