ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 55504
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| Date: | Friday 2 August 2002 |
| Time: | 15:00 |
| Type: |  BAe Harrier II GR.7 |
| Owner/operator: | 20 (R) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | ZD464 |
| MSN: | P54 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | into sea 150 yards off Lowestoft, Suffolk -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Wittering (EGXT) |
| Lowestoft, Suffolk | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
An RAF Harrier jet performing at an air show has crashed into the sea off the Suffolk coast. The accident happened in front of thousands of holidaymakers at the Lowestoft Air Show. The pilot ejected shortly after the engine failed.
The Harrier was coming to the end of its display - when it bows to the crowd, before flying off.
A spokesman for the organisers says at about fifty feet, there was apparently engine failure and the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Tony Cann, ejected. The Lowestoft lifeboat brought him ashore. Flight Lieutenant Cann, who is based at RAF Wittering, is understood to be well and crowds applauded him as he waved from a helicopter which was taking him to the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston for examination.
A BBC reporter at the scene said the aircraft was flying about 50 feet above the water when there was a loud explosion. "The Harrier, one of the most popular parts of the show, was facing the crowd about 50 feet from the edge of the sand," said Guy Campbell.
"It was about to do a favourite manoeuvre with the crowds - a bow - when there seemed to be some kind of huge engine loss. The jet began to fall towards the sea then there was an explosion as the hood of the cockpit blew off and we saw the pilot fly about 50 feet into the air." No-one in the crowd was injured.
An RAF board of inquiry has now established that Flight Lieutenant Tony Cann had accidentally operated the controls for throttle and nozzle direction lever at the same time causing it to drop like a stone
The remains of the Harrier (20(R) Squadron's blue-tailed display jet, ZD464) was recovered by the Royal Air Force on Thursday 8 August, with much interest being generated amongst the locals as the jet was lifted from the seabed by crane, presumably a write-off.
Sources:
1. http://www.ukserials.com/images/losses/zd464.jpg
2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1403431/Pilot-ejects-as-air-show-Harrier-crashes.html
3. http://www.scramble.nl [Scramble 280]
4. http://www.ukserials.com/pdflosses/maas_20020802_zd464.pdf
5. http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/airshow02/lowestoft/lowestoft.htm
6. http://web.archive.org/web/20161217162442/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/harrier/harrier.htm
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Harrier_Jump_Jet_family_losses#UK_operated_Harriers_4
8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2168921.stm
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Feb-2009 21:02 | tonycran | Updated |
| 02-Aug-2011 00:46 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Apr-2013 14:50 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Narrative] |
| 01-Dec-2014 23:29 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 21-Jul-2016 23:31 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 22-Jul-2016 16:48 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
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