Lightning Down At FAOB
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 153
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sadly pilot did not make it out from this one. Seems like hydraulics failure on t/o, according to people at the base and involved with air show. Twin stick, but no-one else on board.
Airfield raised net but aircraft did not make it that far. Have not posted pilot name (RIP) out of respect for family, friends and colleagues. No official announcement has yet been made.
Airfield raised net but aircraft did not make it that far. Have not posted pilot name (RIP) out of respect for family, friends and colleagues. No official announcement has yet been made.
More bang for your buck
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: land of the clanger
Age: 82
Posts: 3,512
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Some info here: Fighter jet crashes at air show: News24: SouthAfrica: News
From Avcom.za...
N
i was at the show and heard pilot declare emergency. ac was routed to east of the field and pilot indicated possibility of needing to eject. he reported he was going to fly away from populated areas and again indicated he may need to eject. thereafter indicated he was having difficulties with control and was ejecting. shortly afterwards he reported "ejection failure" and the aircraft impacted the ground. I saw no parachute deploy.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Africa
Posts: 412
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It was made with limited info available.
If it was known a fatality had occurred the post would have reflected that. Initial reports were that the pilot had survived.
If it was known a fatality had occurred the post would have reflected that. Initial reports were that the pilot had survived.
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Chedburgh, Bury St.Edmunds
Age: 81
Posts: 1,175
Likes: 0
Received 7 Likes
on
5 Posts
Really sad. I attended this show at Overburg four years ago, still have the video I took, some of my best experiences of S.A. were Thunder City and Overburg. R.I.P.
Gamekeeper
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: South East
Age: 61
Posts: 215
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Isn’t it more likely a failure of the canopy to eject within the sequencing of the seat release? Can the canopy be manual ejected?
Any experienced Lightning people care to comment. All very sad
Can the canopy be manual ejected?Any experienced Lightning people care to comment. All very sad
Last edited by PFR; 15th Nov 2009 at 14:38.
Originally Posted by BOAC
Do we know any more about the seat failure? Right bugger that is. Poor DS.
Perhaps similar to George Aird's famous last moment ejection from that F1 at Hatfield but without the same happy ending.
Yes, Him
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: West Sussex, UK
Posts: 2,689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Have seen posts that DS reported 3 failed ejection attempts
You can trace this back for yourself, starting with the links at the top of the thread. Give yourself time to get through all the spotter bolli.
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: www.jet-screen.co.uk
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
A fantastic aviator, Rest in Peace.
Dave flew me supersonic on a Lightning sortie only last year. What an amazing gentleman, and aviator. So young, and such a tragedy. My thoughts are with all his family and friends in Hermanus and Cape Town.
RIP Dave
RIP Dave
Cape Town – “Hydraulic malfunction. I’m bailing out. Ejection seat malfunction.”
These were the last words heard by a former air force pilot before his fighter plane crashed on Saturday at the Bredasdorp air show.
Dave Stock, 46, from Hermanus, died in the accident. Rescuers found remains of his clothing about 10km from the Overberg air force base.
Stock was an experienced pilot who had completed close to 16 000 flying hours and had taken part in more than 100 air shows.
Stock was performing a display flight in a Lightning jet from Thunder City in Cape Town – one of only four in the world – when it crashed.
Investigation pending
Colonel Marius van der Heever, commander of the Overberg air force base, said the Civil Aviation Authority would investigate the accident.
“Right up until the end, Dave had communication with the tower and he was fully conscious when he crashed.”
“There were also indications that he could not eject successfully,” said Van der Heever.
Check the report on the loss of Lightning F3 XR721 on 5/1/66 for canopy problems. Post 14 is correct, there is an interrupter link between the canopy and the seat to stop the seat going till the canopy has gone as there is a large bit of metal frame in the way that is not frangible. The seat cannot eject if the canopy is on. There is a drill to manually jettison the canopy.