ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 21140
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| Date: | Friday 29 January 1971 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  English Electric Canberra T Mk 4 |
| Owner/operator: | 360 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | WJ862 |
| MSN: | 71235 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 16th Fairway, Coxmoor Golf Course, 1.5 miles South of Mansfield -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Cottesmore, Rutland (EGXJ) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Two Canberras of 360 Squadron, RAF (T.17 WH874 and T.4 WJ862) collided over Sutton-in-Ashfield near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, when flying in formation and crashed. All crew members - two in the T.17 and three in the T.4 - ejected safely. The aircraft crashed at Coxmoor Colf Club, one-and-a-half-miles south of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
Crew of Canberra WJ862:
Flying Officer Jake W.Pearson [left seat]
Flying Officer Pete T Jennings [Navigator]
Flying Officer Doug Irwin
All three crew bailed out of Canberra WJ862 and survived, althouhg with injuries. According to the website of Coxmoor Golf Club (in itself derived from the "Nottingham Evening Post" of 30 January 1971):
"The second major incident involving aircraft occurred on a day in January 1971 when the clubhouse, golf course, players and residents of the surrounding area had something of a miraculous escape.
Two RAF Canberra jet bombers collided in the sky above Coxmoor at around 10,000 feet and at a speed of 300mph. The impact sent wreckage showering over an area of around six square miles, like confetti in the wind. Much of it landed across Coxmoor golf course. One of the stricken jets came down on the 16th fairway, the other in a field opposite.
Bill Drury and some of his staff were working on the fourth hole as the collision occurred and they were forced to dive for shelter in a bunker to avoid lumps of metal which came crashing down from above.
The incident made headline news around the country and a security cordon was thrown around the golf course as Ministry of Defence experts were flown in by helicopter to begin an investigation and search for classified, top secret equipment which, the media was informed, had been carried on the planes.
Five airmen baled out, four landing on the course, the other in woods near Harlow Wood Hospital. All were taken to Harlow Wood Hospital with back injuries, although none were seriously hurt. However, it quickly emerged that the towns of Sutton, Kirkby and Mansfield had had a remarkable escape.
One of the pilots, Flying Officer Douglas Irwin was interviewed by a reporter from the Nottingham Evening Post while still lying in his Mansfield hospital bed. He told the newsman: "It was just plain luck that we did not land in a built-up area. We did not have time to point the planes at the countryside and pick our spot."
Crowds of curious local people defied the restrictions on access to get a glimpse of the stricken planes and local police chief Superintendent John A. Weselby broadcast an appeal to anyone who found a piece of the wreckage to hand it over to the authorities.
While the investigation was continuing on the ground, Coxmoor was closed to everyone and secretary William Arbon was told that play could not begin again until the Ministry of Defence officials had finished their work and given the all-clear".
Sources:
1. Air Britain RAF Aircraft WA100 - WZ999
2. Nottingham Evening Post 30 January 1971
3. http://www.360sqn.org.uk/360WATNow.htm
4. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1971.htm
5. http://www.bywat.co.uk/canb06.html
6. https://www.coxmoorgolfclub.co.uk/chapter-7-air-crashes
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Jun-2008 10:41 | JINX | Added |
| 15-Mar-2012 12:00 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Source] |
| 09-Apr-2013 20:21 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Jan-2022 18:47 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
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