ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 155401
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| Date: | Tuesday 8 September 1953 |
| Time: | 09:50 LT |
| Type: | Bristol 171 Sycamore Mk 1 |
| Owner/operator: | RAE Farnborough |
| Registration: | VL963 |
| MSN: | 12836 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Farnborough Airfield, Farnborough, Hampshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Farnborough Airfield, Farnborough, Hampshire (EGLF) |
| Farnborough Airfield, Farnborough, Hampshire (EGLF) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Bristol 171 Sycamore Mk.1 VL963, ex-G-ALOU; first registered as such (C of R 12727/1) 25/4/1949 to the Secretary of State, Ministry of Supply, London SW.1. C of A 10562 issued May 1949. Civil registration G-ALOU cancelled 8/1/1951 as "now operating under service makings". By this time, had been allocated (and wore) the military serial VL963.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed at Farnborough, Hampshire 8/9/1953 when, after a badly executed take-off, the pilot (Flight Lieutenant (163220) J.K. Hough AFC, RAE Farnborough Test Pilot) decided to land at once but the rotor struck the ground, pitching the nose forward and initiating severe bucking owing to the damaged rotor still running at take-off power.
The pilot was knocked unconscious and thrown from aircraft, sustaining injuries, from which he died later in hospital. The other crew member - Rolls-Royce's Chief Test Pilot James Harvey Heyworth - survived with minor injuries (concussion, lacerations and bruising). It was James Heyworth's first ever helicopter flight, and the extent of his injuries meant that he was not passed at fit to fly once more under Christmas Eve (December 24th)
This helicopter crash happened during the 1953 Farnborough Air Show. According to the newspapers it happened on the far side of the aerodrome and wasn't witnessed by the crowd:
"Coventry Evening Telegraph" - Tuesday 08 September 1953
"Helicopter in Air Show Crash" —Two Injured.
The pilot and passenger in a Bristol Sycamore helicopter were taken to hospital after the machine struck the ground and overturned while landing at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, to-day. Neither pilot nor passenger was understood to be seriously injured.
The accident occurred on the further side of the huge Farnborough Aerodrome, where the Society of British Aircraft Constructors' show is taking place. None of the dense crowds attending the display saw the incident.
AMBULANCE HOVERPLANE
The machine, an ambulance hoverplane, had been lent to the Royal Aircraft Establishment, by the manufacturers as a stand-by in case of any emergency during the show. It was being piloted by Flight Lieut. Hough, a member of the flying staff of the R.A.E., who was accompanied by a civil test pilot. Mr. J. H. Heyworth.
The plane was hovering a few feet above the ground, slowly descending to land, when suddenly it dropped to earth and the tail rotor struck the ground, swung the machine round and toppled it over."
"Portsmouth Evening News" - Friday 11 September 1953
"Duke Gives Show Thrill
NEVILLE DUKE, gave a sensational flying display at the Farnborough air show to-day. He flew over the aerodrome from Dunsfold, pointed his flame-red Hawker Hunter at the centre of the show ground from a height of more than eight miles, and produced the most startling double sonic bang that has been heard at the display since supersonic flying was first permitted there last year.
The public were barred from having a close-up view of some of the latest war planes in the show. Britain's three new multi-engine jet bombers, the Vickers Valiant, the Avro Vulcan, and the Handley Page Victor, were not parked with the rest of the planes, which the public examine in detail. Instead, they were put behind screens on the farther side of the huge aerodrome, and security officers stopped any unauthorized person going too near.
Mr. J. H. Heyworth, chief test pilot to Rolls Royce, who was injured in the helicopter crash at Farnborough, on Tuesday, has been discharged from hospital."
Sources:
1. Men of Power: The Lives of Rolls-Royce Chief Test Pilots Harvey and Jim Heyworth
By Robert Jackson
2. http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/hancrash.html
3. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VL
4. https://www.heli-archive.ch/en/helicopters/in-depth-articles/bristol-171-sycamore/
5. http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/memorial/entry.php?id=226
6. http://www.ukserials.com/prodlists.php?type=1078
7. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=16087.0
8. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-ALOU.pdf
9. https://www.helis.com/database/cn/42196/
10. http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/bristol_sycamore.php
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Apr-2013 02:07 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 22-Feb-2020 00:20 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 22-Feb-2020 00:23 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 22-Feb-2020 00:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 14-May-2021 21:56 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-May-2021 22:00 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative] |
| 14-May-2021 22:02 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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