Typhoon Close Call At RIAT
 

Typhoon Close Call At RIAT this pm.

How close can an ac get to an accident? Sooooo much alpha, soooo near the ground. Glad for him that he got away with it (and for half the RAF in the corporate hospitality area, I think we were all a little taken aback at the proximity).

Fair decision to knock-off all of the low display and vertical manoeuvres after that. Indeed, I was kind of surprised that he did not go straight home after monstering the base height. I’d love to see a replay just to see the nose down angle when it all went wrong, as well as the clearance from the deck as the sink rate was finally arrested.

I reckon it was around 30 ft. Allegedly there was significant ground scorching from the engines.

Something obviously went seriously wrong; I suspect that a change of underwear was in order afterwards.

It's the closest I've seen to an airshow disaster; up until then the display was pretty damn impressive!

Have seen the video (I am northside) and it was frightneng indeed. The Typhoon pilot is lucky to be walking tonight. I would estimate A/C still descending at about 25 feet AGL

The Typhoon (other A/C) has just done a rehearsal about 40 mins ago, so it may well be in the show after all.

I think tonight, I shall raise a glass to to one very lucky chap indeed. I am still shaking my head in disbelief.

We are all lucky sometimes.

Conan

Too right!

Photo

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=45485

Bloody hell!

I was in the corporate challet at east end. It was close, right in front of us :uhoh: , lowest point less than the height of the fin at a guess.
Some photos of it climbing out and it was v low then.
So many ooohs and a huge sigh as he pulled away.
Seen clips like that before but not for real, or with such good outcomes, actually thought about where to run, along with others around me. We watched expecting him to bangout.
Interesting to see what happens tomorrow!!!:hmm:
NJ

That was SO close! I was enjoying a day of corporate hospitality, strolling along with an ex Buccaneer Nav and a friend who has no aviation connections, when I stopped them all to watch the Typhoon practice display.

It was an excellent routine, but when I saw it descend below the level of the hangar opposite the runway still going downhill at one hell of a rate of knots with a worryingly high angle of attack I froze. I was convinced he had left it too late and was just waiting for the bang, either of impact or Martin Baker. With an enormous tongue of flame and a deafening roar he managed to miss the ground, by around 20 feet I would guess.

I turned to ex Buc Nav to see him white as a sheet, even my legal mate asked if that sort of thing was normal. Apparently I was as white as a sheet too.

How come the normally fiercesome Flying Display Committee did not order a land right away?

That has to be the closest I have ever been to seeing an airshow accident, do 29 (R) have more than one authorised display pilot?

A good few of us thought he was going to have to leave the aeroplane. Given the proximity of it to the chalet I had already decided that running was not going to help...

I wondered if pulling through earlier crossed his mind, although that would have put him through the crowd line, albeit at a greater recovery height.

After years of wizzing about at high speed / low level, getting monstered on the ground would have been a little too ironic for Mrs JTO. Still, that kind of alpha is not exactly an option on the Tornado.

JTO

I was staggered he stayed with it, one very very lucky bunny. He must have been shi**ing himself.

Rather took the edge off the afternoon for me. I was reminded of the two good F-4 mates who pancaked in at Abingdon lacking the few extra feet that matey today had.

Oouch
 

Nice pic on the aviation forum web.
Anyone have any video footage of the display practice?

Have seen a work up to this display. What was the manouevre?

Given you longevity around aeroplanes, you've been a lucky sod then BEags, and from the sound of it so was Mate in the Typhoon. Long may you both be so fortunate...

Please stay safe, it's been a shyte eight days.

Reminiscent of the Strikemaster at F'boro in 76 too. That got extremely low after three-penny-bitting the bottom of the loop.

I do not think ejection would have been an option with a high r.o.d?

I would, however, have expected to see more 'alpha' on the fore-plane?

Amazing picture. It appears that he is now climbing in that so was clearly lower at some point.
Is there any method by which we could calculate his height using the red and white pole behind?... his position on field vs the position of the pole etc?... are the markings on the pole a set measurement? (they look about 6ft compared to the blue van)... next question is... what is the pole for anyway? Looks like flood level marker,

Calling all TYPHOO Drivers

Has anyone considered that this was part of the display, or even thought of asking the guy driving at the time if this was normal?

What about talking to a Typhoo driver for an opinion before you all crucify this one?

all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol indeced

I was more of the opinion that he was being congratulated on a magnificent recovery.... unless he meant it, in which case he should still be:ok:

who was the pilot?
 

The pic on the Key publishing site is a little ambiguous. Anyone got any more of the close call, perhaps from side on?

There's a better shot by the same photographer at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nick.bl...1507/close.jpg.

I/C

It's actually by a different photographer to the other one;)

Clearly seen in this one is the dirt and grass debris from the jet efflux.......:ooh:

Nick Blacow puts his pics on PPRuNe first and you can see that one and others he took over two days - so far - on AH&N.

I'd like to be a fly on the wall in the de-brief after that one :( I have sneaking feeling that it went as planned but 100ft too low.

JSP 550 gives absolute minimas for displays with 50ft for helos doing hovering and 100ft for fixed wing. Think he must want to be a rotary pilot!!

If anyone's got video (in a digital format) and wants to share it with us but is wondering how, then know that for $4.95 USD you can have a video clip hosted

No connection with that service other than as an occasional consumer.

PS Hosting a video there and passing on the link is unlikely to bring sundry unnamed systems crawling to a halt (cfr attaching it to a message which is forwarded many times). ;)

adr

That, adr, is advertising and is deleted.

Look here for the best pic so far
http://www.ukar.co.uk/board/ikonboar...0;t=4868;st=20

Frankly, I don't give a twopenny stuff whether the pilot screwed up - he learned something, and he won't do it agian, and someone with less ability might just be persuaded not to even try it - or gets bollocked.

He lived to talk about it.

Folks, we got a result. Our colleague is still with us.

Just thinking back to the now infamous Thunderbirds crash - when on earth would you decide to eject during a manoeuvre like that? Hank obviously did, our guy didn't. Would it have been obvious to the guy that he was going to make it after all, despite how close it appears?

Not criticising, just curious. It's real big balls stuff. :ooh:

Enough guys have piled in showing off. This was a display pilot flying a professional display, not just cuffing it, and something went wrong. It wil come out in the wash, let's just be grateful that the result is a mate still walking this earth and no hole in the ground.

Lucky indeed. Would anybody care to comment on whether the Airbus'esque care free handling of the Typhoon is better than a steely hand nibbling the buffet?

It's unlikely that what happened will make its way onto PPRuNe.

However, I do hope the pilot's story will make its way, in the manner of these things, to display pilots of similar types - preferably over a beer or two, and it may well stop someone else stoofing in.

Captain H

I believe Typhoon has a detented full back stick, giving that little bit extra when required in extremis. Still presumably controlled within a defined FCS envelope.

Fact - Something didn't go as planned.

Fact - The reason isn't known.

But if the pilot later flew his display in the other aircraft and it was approved, the root cause is unlikely to have been pilot proficiency, I would venture to suggest.

Remember the MiG 29 prang at Paris? Initial speculation was that the pilot had porked it; however, it was later seen to have ingested a bird and lost a lot of thrust as a result. That very clever Russian seat saved him!

Congratulations to the Typhoon mate for getting back on the horse so quickly afterwards - and proving himself so capable!

But as Typhoon is entirely fly by wire, and the two jets would have the same FCS software loaded, it might be that the root cause may have something to do with pilot proficiency, I would venture to suggest.

Ah, but as you well know lots of bits of the J (for example) are all software driven and all those systems perform the same on each 'frame without any glitches don't they.......? All it takes is a stray wigglyamp or a duff sensor input and away you go.

But the J is not Fly by wire, and therefore much of the software is not subject to the same standards and safety standards that are carried out on the FCS software.

Personally I am not bothered at the reason or outcome of whatever was the cause/problem as long as the crew and joe public are safe, and my xx Million pounds of taxpayers money is in one piece. It just shows the sheer power and agility of this aircraft, how many modern fighters would have recovered?.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nick.bl...1507/close.jpg

The image in question. I am not a Pilot but I have been photographing airshows for 20 years and that was the closest to the ground I have seen a fast jet come with his wheels up. I honestly though I was about to photograph an accident.

The important thing is that he walked away and had the raw nerve to fly again that evening (without the flick before the high alpha pass).

That is worth credit where it is due IMHO.

Plaudits all round I see

What will the BOI say ?

The pilot nearly failed to comply with the display instructions ?

The ac narrowly avoided crashing during the agreed display profile ?

That spectacular display manoeuvre had not been ratified by the AOC !

This was a dangerous situation which threatened the safety of the ac, the pilot and the public.

And so on !

Or will he get a Green Endorsment in his Log Book for saving a valuable aeroplane ?

You've only got too much fuel when your on fire!!

I have seen some more photos and I would say he came within 25ft of the deck. I would class that as an arse gripping experience in anyone's book. Well done for staying with it and saving the RAF and BWoS from a very embarrasing situation. Presumably the bang out handle is in the usual place on a Typhoon. I would imagine his hand was quite near it at some point. I have a hard time imagining this was a pilot induced problem.

You presumably were in the cockpit with him to know that? What a ridiculous statement

Again, what a ridiculous statement.
The guy has made a miraculous recovery of a very dangerous/life threatening situation.
Think he desreves a pat on the back first, then criticism if it is later proved to be pilot error

Actually, at a public airshow, I believe he should be red carded for at least the rest of the day. Politically too sensitive to red card the BWOS jet for the whole show, but it would give the pilot time to contemplate his mortality (and those of the punters), a comprehensive debrief with the engineers/show organisers, and then make a decision on what to do next. There are only 3 possible causes, missed a key height, wrong speed/amount of 'G', or a technical problem. I would imagine that once he realised how close it was going to be, he was probably outside seat parameters.

Seat parameters
 

I wouln't agree with that; the video iof the Thunderbird pilot jumping out in similar circumstances suggests a modern seat would have coped.

SBG