Date:	Friday 5 June 1998
Time:	14:17 LT
Type:	Hawker Hunter F Mk 4
Owner/operator:	Hunter Wing Ltd
Registration:	G-HHUN
MSN:	HABL-003020
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Dunsfold Airfield, Dunsfold, Godalming, Surrey -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Demo/Airshow/Display
Departure airport:	Dunsfold, Surrey [EGTD]
Destination airport:	Dunsfold, Surrey [EGTD]
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
Crashed during air display rehearsal, due to engine failure/engine fire. The pilot, BAe Woodford Test Pilot John Eldon Davies, was killed. A contemporary newspaper report gives further details ("Warrington Guardian" - 17th June 1998)

"SHOCKED villagers have paid tribute to a pilot who has just died in a jet crash.

John Davies, 42, was killed on June 5 when his Hawker Hunter aircraft crashed during a trial run for the Biggin Hill Airshow. This week his neighbours Richard and Marjorie Hall, from Senna Lane, Comberbach, said he was a "perfect man."

"He did absolutely everything - and he was absolutely perfect at it," said Marjorie. He was an extremely active man. You name it, jogging, sailing, cycling, off-piste skiing: he loved being on the move. He had just completed a 40-mile bike ride a few days before his death."

Another neighbour, Eric Spruce, said: "As a neighbourhood, we're all quite upset. We all knew he was a very clever fellow, and he was pleasant to people."

Colleagues at Woodford Aerodrome, where Mr Davies worked for British Aerospace, said his death was tragic. "He had been Chief Test Pilot for a matter of days," said training pilot Clive Baldwin. "Before that he had been a training pilot. He commanded the utmost respect from everyone he ever trained. He was a tremendously skilled display pilot, and a good manager. He will be much missed."

Mr Davies was unmarried, but leaves a son, aged 15. Mrs Hall added: "He had only just got to know his son. They were getting on together. And he was so thrilled with his new job. It really is a sad loss."

An inquiry is underway into the cause of the crash".

The aircraft was a civil registered Hawker Hunter F4 and carried the manufacturer's serial number HABL003020. It was fitted with a Rolls-Royce Avon-122 turbojet engine, serial number 7409. Before the Royal Air Force had disposed of the aircraft, it had carried the military designation XE677.

XE677 was first delivered to the RAF 5 Maintenance Unit (MU) from Hawker Aircraft Limited at Dunsfold on 11 July 1955. RAF Service was with 4 Squadron as "M", from 2 September 1955, to 118 Squadron 17 October 1955, 93 Squadron as "Q" (in all these three cases based at RAF Jever, West Germany). XE677 was one of only three Mk.4s fitted with wing leading edge extensions. To 111 Squadron RAF North Weald late 1956, then To 229 OCU, RAF Chivenor 29 March 1957.

It had served in the RAF until it was retired on 7 July 1958, at 752.40 airframe hours, when it was positioned at RAF Kemble. In 1961 it was re-purchased by Hawker Aircraft for development work and transported by road to Dunsfold. However it was not in fact used for the intended development programme, but was subsequently donated to Loughborough Technical College for instructional use. While at Loughborough it had been kept under cover and had therefore remained in excellent condition. In 1989 it was declared surplus to college requirements and was then purchased by the operator. The operator registered the aircraft on the UK Civil Register as G-HHUN on 2 October 1988

1. Aberdeen Press and Journal - Saturday 06 June 1998
2. Aberdeen Evening Express - Saturday 06 June 1998
3. Warrington Guardian - 17th June 1998
4. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f5f0ed915d1374000589/dft_avsafety_pdf_502233.pdf
5. https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/registration/G-HHUN
6. https://www.planepictures.net/v3/search_en.php?srch=G-HHUN&srng=2&stype=reg
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunsfold_Aerodrome#Incidents_and_accidents
8. https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/242324
9. https://www.heritageaviation.com/index.php/the-pilot/
10. http://www.rafjever.org/93squadaircraft.htm

Hawker Hunter G-HHUN (when still XE677) as Loughborough Technical College in 1968:

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-May-2008 11:10	ASN archive	Added
05-Dec-2011 01:23	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Registration, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]
27-Mar-2012 07:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative]
22-Dec-2012 15:45	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Embed code]
27-Nov-2014 14:28	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
18-Dec-2020 16:23	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Accident report]
18-Dec-2020 23:21	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative, Accident report]