ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 56562
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| Date: | Tuesday 2 March 1971 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  BAC Jet Provost T5 |
| Owner/operator: | 1 FTS RAF |
| Registration: | XW300 |
| MSN: | EEP/JP/964 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Turnham Hall, Selby, North Yorkshire, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Midair collision between a Royal Navy Percival Sea Prince WP312 'LO' of the Church Fenton Station Flight and an RAF Jet Provost T5 XW300 of 1 FTS. Three occupants killed in total - both crew in the Jet Provost and one person on board the Sea Prince (the pilot)
The pilot of the Sea Prince was Cdr. David Dunbar-Dempsey, who was Senior Naval Officer at RAF Church Fenton and is buried in the RN Cemetery at the FAA Church in Yeovilton.
One of the Jet Provost crew was reported to be Flight Lieutenant Elwyn David Bell (507722) of Cape Town, South Africa. He was cremated at York Crematorium (Bishopthorpe Road) and is commemorated on a plaque at the Armed Forces Memorial At The National Aboretum in Staffordshire.
The RAF Aircraft Accident Report states that "the basic cause of the accident was that the pilots of the two aircraft, which were on a collision course in cloudless conditions and excellent visibility, failed to see each other in time to take avoiding action". Possible contributory causes were a) the Jet provost was flying in to the sun and b) the view from the left hand pilots seat of a Sea prince is restricted. The Board found that both Jet Provost pilots were killed before their ejector seats could be used, and that the Sea Prince pilot was severely injured in the few seconds that followed the collision and stood no chance of escaping from the aircraft in the circumstances. The Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief accepted the Board's findings and agreed that although there were mitigating circumstances in each case, all three pilots were to blame for failing to see the aircraft with which they collided. However the C-in-C agreed to a) "re-investigate all of the factors bearing on the long recognised problem of lower airspace congestion in the Vale of York, b) investigate the "advisability of operating an aircraft such as the Sea Prince with a single crew member", c) re-examine "the method and efficiency of teaching aircrew how to look out and search the sky systematically", d) re-examine whether "to fit training aircraft with anti-collision lights". Lastly the Board of Inquiry proceedings "revealed some lack of precise definition between the RAF and the RN of responsibility for the operation of Naval aircraft flying from RAF Church Fenton."
Sources:
1. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%201937.html
2. https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/356645-raf-church-fenton-1971-a.html
3. www.ukserials.com/losses-1971.htm
4. http://www.transportphotos.com/air/photo/MIL30133
5. http://www.southafricawargraves.org/lists/Postwar_SAs.htm
6. RAF Air Accident Report 30 September 1971.
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Dec-2008 11:16 | harro | Updated |
| 06-Jan-2009 09:49 | ptr914 | Updated |
| 29-Nov-2011 11:02 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 29-Nov-2011 12:00 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Source, Narrative] |
| 30-Nov-2011 19:32 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Other fatalities, Source] |
| 27-Nov-2012 07:29 | w1nchester32 | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 27-Nov-2012 07:46 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 06-Dec-2018 18:14 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Location, Nature, Operator] |
| 10-Apr-2022 04:09 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Nature] |
| 14-Jul-2022 23:25 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 14-Jul-2022 23:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Category] |
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