Date:	Friday 11 June 1948
Time:	16:47
Type:	de Havilland DH.100 Vampire F Mk 3
Owner/operator:	Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
Registration:	17037
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RCAF Rockcliffe, Ontario -   Canada
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Rockcliffe, Ontario
Destination airport:	Rockcliffe, ON

Narrative:
Flying Officer R.A. Hodgins was a pilot with the RCAF's Central Experimental and Proving Establishment and was practicing aerobatics for an airshow. He was in the process of carrying out a climbing roll following a high-speed pass and as the aircraft approached the inverted position, the nose of the aircraft suddenly dropped and went into a series of flick rolls which developed into a spin. There did not appear to be any attempt to recover and the aircraft was still spinning when it struck the ground near the end of the runway and burst into flames. This was the first RCAF Vampire fatality.

Witness of the event L. E. Baney
Saskatoon Star Phoenix 17 June 1948, p17
The Winnipeg Evening Tribune 12 June 1948, p4
History of the DeHavilland Vampire, David Watkins
Canadian Military Aircraft, Serials & Photographs, 1920-1968 (p424)
https://443squadron.wordpress.com/category/rooney-hodgins/
http://www.rwrwalker.ca/RCAF_Vampire_III.html
https://legionmagazine.com/en/2010/04/the-problems-with-vampires-air-force-part-38/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
16-Jan-2018 19:36	TB	Added
03-Feb-2018 18:05	TB	Updated [Date, Source, Narrative]
08-Jan-2020 21:06	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
12-Apr-2020 09:51	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]
18-Feb-2021 08:36	Cosmo	Updated [Time, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
10-Mar-2021 09:52	Castle	Updated [Location, Operator]