| GeoffQRF | 22 Aug 2015 7:32 a.m. PST |
Just hearing that the Hawker Hunter has crashed while performing an air display at Shoreham (UK south coast) Initial reports are that he was too low coming out of the loop and crashed into cars on the A27 (highway). No details but they are saying casualties. |
| Dark Knights And Bloody Dawns | 22 Aug 2015 8:08 a.m. PST |
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| Coyotepunc and Hatshepsuut | 22 Aug 2015 9:05 a.m. PST |
That is terrible and tragic. Our thoughts and prayers go out o the families of everyone involved. |
| David Manley | 22 Aug 2015 10:22 a.m. PST |
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 Herkybird  | 22 Aug 2015 11:08 a.m. PST |
So sad, my sympathies to all involved or affected. |
| GeoffQRF | 22 Aug 2015 11:48 a.m. PST |
All 7 killed were apparently killed on collision. I'm assuming the pilot is one of them. Several injured. Some strange eye witness reports include that he stalled coming out of the loop (flameout?) and that it split in two (??) |
| GeoffQRF | 22 Aug 2015 3:40 p.m. PST |
Just reported on the news that the pilot is in a critical condition |
| GeoffQRF | 23 Aug 2015 12:31 p.m. PST |
Footage has emerged of the moment it crashed: bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34034784 Looks almost like he was trying to pull out of the loop, replied he wasn't going to make it and on trying to pull up just lost all lift. No idea yet if that was pilot error or he suffered a loss of power. They are now reporting 11 killed, last I heard the pilot is still fighting for his life, but I do feel very sorry for him if he manages to pull through. |
| Jemima Fawr | 24 Aug 2015 7:09 a.m. PST |
It looks to me like he didn't go into the loop with enough energy – there was adverse yaw at the top of the loop, which appears to indicate a catastrophic loss of airspeed and stall at that point. The descent part of the loop was then uncontrolled, as he tried and failed to recover from the stall. The nose-up attitude at impact was what saved the pilot – the tail hit first and the front half of the plane broke off on impact, carrying the pilot on and away from the explosion. |
| GeoffQRF | 24 Aug 2015 12:52 p.m. PST |
Looking at the various video footage, he appears to commence the loop in a line parallel to the runway. However on the route up he rolls onto a different line which put the exit in a line with the A27:
Not sure if that was intentional (to realign for the next manoeuvre) or something was already going wrong. He was an experienced display pilot, and I'm tempted to think the former. The apex of the loop seemed ok, he went through it with power and what appeared to be forward momentum, but video footage of the exit shows him coming fast and bottoming out very, very low. The video of the moment just before the crash, taken by someone on the main road, shows what appears to be an accelerated stall at the bottom of the loop, Looking at this photo, taken a fraction before impact:
…the actual line of flight has a vertical component here. He narrowly missed the stationary line of traffic. as Mark has indicated, it appears that his efforts to pull up hard appears to have caused the tail to contact first. The explosion was dramatic, but a lot of it seems to be instantaneous combustion – a large fireball that quickly rises and goes out leaving a very large black cloud.
You can see the front half is pretty much intact. I haven't put up the other photo (you can Google for it) which shows a sizeable crowd of workmen in the area. It's possible some of those are amongst the victims. |
| Jemima Fawr | 24 Aug 2015 1:46 p.m. PST |
Yes, something went catastrophically wrong during the climb phase of the loop – maybe a loss of power? This seems to lead to a stall, leading then to loss of directional control until he could regain enough airspeed to recover. A few hundred feet higher and he'd have been fine, but… Just awful. |
| GeoffQRF | 24 Aug 2015 2:08 p.m. PST |
Just announced on BBC, all vintage jets will be limited to flypasts if over land (can still do displays over water) Graphic on the BBC shows he flew down the crowdline and entered the loop, but he rolled right as he went through it, coming down in line with the road. |
| GeoffQRF | 25 Aug 2015 4:59 a.m. PST |
He appears to have approached from the north, turning to run along the crowd line before entering the loop. Presumably the plan was to exit low and fast straight down the crowdline. You can see a change of direction taken in this video: bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34029344 This would appear to be taken from the north end of the runway and shows him approach and enter the loop, but about halfway through the upward path there is a notable roll that takes him off a line parallel to the runway and aligns him instead with the road. Looking at this, one wonders why he was not able to deviate right into the open fields or correct the line during the descent. |
| GeoffQRF | 01 Sep 2015 7:48 a.m. PST |
At Dunsfold Wings and Wheels this weekend, there was a stunning 1 minute silence held in memory of those who died at Shoreham. It was a remarkable moment. One minute there was the humm of idling diesel engines from the multitude of military vehicles present, the hum of aircraft in the distance, children laughing and playing around the family areas, and the next I swear the whole airfield went completely silent. Even the birds seemed to stop singing. In the far distance you got a soft buzz of something approaching, as as the commentary re-started you got this… link |
checks out some 10/15mm railroad tracks for wargaming.
