Boss Sacked for low flying?
 

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/vmfa...down-ceremony/

could have flown under a bridge, I guess...

The Golden Rule is simple....."One Aw Crap! wipes out a thousand Attaboys!".:ugh:

Wasn't that low.

I hope he got lower than that when he landed. Some one up the chain is having a lend, surely, what was the briefed fly past height, 45,000? Downwind circuit is flown at 600 feet.

Seriously? For that?

He wasn’t even the PIC, he was the GIB......

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/new...quadron-fired/

For some reason the old classic:
“infamy, infamy, everyone’s got it in-for-me” comes to mind.
There has to be more to this story than that.

The video does indeed show a ‘pretty tame’ flypast but if the authorisation was only for an ‘exceptionally tame’ flypast then the crew is going to be in trouble, whoever they are. It’s a question of discipline and orderly conduct, not safety, and that is a very difficult position for a subordinate commander to wind up in (whether pilot or WSO is, in this situation, totally irrelevant). The time to challenge overly-restrictive parameters is before a sortie, not during or after.

That said, I do lament the attitude to flypasts of a generation of senior commanders who would routinely have given ‘spirited’ performances in their squadron flying days. I am not suggesting carte blanche be given to unsafe acts, but there is nothing unsafe about flying over one’s own airfield at heights and speeds which would be perfectly acceptable on a weapons range or in a low flying training area.

But, sadly, I also recognise that there is a question of trust. If crews could be trusted to stick to their authorisations then maybe senior commanders might take a bit more risk in setting parameters...

I get dizzy if I fly that high.....

I concur in full.

Was he authed? Was it the old, 'Never-ask-a-question-if-you-won't-like-the-answer' sitch, where he was clearly told not to do something and did it anyway?

CG

Edit: missed EasyStreet's comment.

Concur. There has to be another video somewhere, involving a farm Animal. That doesn't count as low flying even under the FARs unless there is some magic mirror involved.

That is just embarrassing.

I thought he was sacked for low flying...

I was expecting something more like this...


Or this...

The CO being held to the very same standards and discipline that he is supposed to be ingraining within his unit seems to be an alien concept for some on here.

All very amusing until you kill someone, as in the C130 at South Cerney. As someone mentioned above - that was an "aww ****" - not an "attaboy!" moment.

Yup Shy - the nose bleeds above 1500 ft.

That is the highest "low pass" I have ever seen.
He cannot have (seriously) been fired for that????????

Did he boom someone?

The jags in Oman considered it low flying when you dented the roof of a Toyota car!!!

Thought it might provoke some interest 😁

I recall a farewell fly past at Rygge after a particularly successful Sqn exchange. A Jag four ship was briefed to overfly the area outside our hangar in trail. ‘The Boss’ chose to lead and briefed the minimum height for those who would follow (I.e. “no lower than me”)

I don't think they payed much attention. No 1 went over at a modest height, followed by the others stepping down a tad in sequence. Bill Langworthy was one of them and suffice it to say, as he passed below our view point at speed (yea yea, the words Jag and speed not often used together,) the vortex from his stb wingtip bent a halt sign post through 90 degrees. He wasn’t the last one either....

most impressive

This is one of the past accidents that have helped create the current air of intolerance:


Have a read of the report.

At Linton-on-Ouse, RAF BFTS graduation days used to be allowed a traditional "ring around the operational squadrons in UK and get what you can get to fly by" airshow.

Not surprisingly, these began to get a bit extreme as pilots all tried to outdo the previous one in whatever way they could.

During my time there in the late 1970s, the Chief Instructor, a Wing Commander, had his office on the first floor at the front of the hangar facing ATC, looking out over the airfield. On the morning of a graduation, a Buccaneer flew past his window at such a low altitude, at almost 90 degrees AOB as it pulled around the corner of the hangar, all the Wingco saw was the tops of the crew's helmets. The left wingtip must have been almost scraping the peri track! The CI's PA (Sgt Gunn?) was just bringing in a tray of coffees and he said he was so surprised by the sight and noise of the Bucc that he almost threw the lot over the CI.

Unofficial graduation flybys were banned from that moment; in reflection probably a very good thing!

I think many of us have already read that. The pilot was a disgrace.

Can you provide the precise time in the video where the 'aww ****' moment occurs, because I keep missing it everytime I watch it? Thanks.

It could even be an occ health issue. The flightplan alt and speed didn't need ear protection for the guests. Whatever the reason, someone took it seriously. It could be just not following the flight plan was enough.

How can the boss be expected to pull up any flying discipline if he has been part of breaking an auth in front of a throng of people...

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/the-...-low-altitude/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_F...ase_B-52_crash

Has anyone got a copy of the video from Tommy's Flypast at Cranwell. It must rate as one of the most outrageous in recent times in front of ***Officers?
The worrying thing is that one is not too sure just how much "in control" he was?
Opinions anyone?

That may be this one, pulled up a bit late :E

Hats blown off at 1:47



IG

Great post Imagegear. I estimate 80 feet above the reviewing base. Not incredibly low but, no doubt it was going to end badly in the context. Glad it didn't end worser (as RFK might have said):rolleyes:!

OAP

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....a4837ea76.jpeg
How about this at Swinderby

Ah, what did we do before Photoshop was invented? 😋

Shy Torque - the graduation flypasts were still going strong (and very low) when I went through Linton in 82/83 - and the 'ring round' was still happening, even to include a pair of A 10s who made a great airfield attack - at Dishforth while talking to Linton tower:)

The Buccs were the real bad boys - between the hangars at warp speed in a hard turn....

That Swinderby Vulcan photo may be authentic. There certainly WAS a Vulcan flypast at a Swinderby passing out parade that created a good deal of, er, comment!

I’m sure it is authentic, there is another from a slightly different angle

Funniest Bucc flypast at Linton in the 70s. After the first pass, whilst turning for another go, front seater decided to open the bomb bay, an anguished NO from the back was too late. There was a ‘war bag’ loose in the bay which parted company from Backburn’s finest. We stopped flying, bussed all the stude’s out who recovered each and every page and mollified a tramp asleep in a hedge who nearly got clobbered. A thank you barrel from the crew was much appreciated.

Whilst sitting in the tower as Duty Instructor, I noticed 4 big birds to the west, rapidly getting bigger. At approx 1 mile from the field, a 4 ship of Jaguars abruptly broke north. On an impulse I called the DI at Leeming and yes, they did have a grad day. A few minutes later we got the message that the Jags said ‘Very Sorry’

I was shown that video during the flying supervisors’ course. Unfortunately, I think there’s a bit missing from the above version; the really exciting bit isn’t shown.

Yep, the Bucc I mentioned did just that. It went between the hangar and the ATC tower....but only just.

Must have got a new CI after that!

Agreed, if you look to the left of the photo, there are people who have spotted it, there is even a chap with his fingers in his ears in anticipation.