ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 21171
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| Date: | Monday 26 October 1959 |
| Time: | |
| Type: | Supermarine Swift FR Mk 5 |
| Owner/operator: | 2 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | WK304 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Roffhausen, 4 miles ESE of RAF Jever, Lower Saxony -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Jever, Lower Saxony |
| RAF Jever (Ger.) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Written off 26/10/1959: Abandoned after engine lost power on GCA. Pilot: Flt/Lt A."Al" Martin ejected at 500 and 150 knots, and suffered severe injuries.
Per a translation of a newspaper report on the crash:
"A British jet aircraft crash - landed near the Olympia Werks. All persons involved then were very lucky.
Roffhausen - A pre-warning of the threatening disaster was a loud explosion. What then happened took only a split second. Witnesses observed a jet aircraft in the sky over Wilhelmshaven that was descending in a glide in the direction of Roffhausen.
The aircraft crashed near the junction of the B69 and B210 and disintegrated. Several parts of the still burning wreckage slid across the main road. Due to a miracle, no one, other that the pilot was injured.
Only luck and flying skill saved the Landkreis Friesland from a unprecedented disaster. Investigations later revealed that it was only because the RAF pilot remained with his aircraft until the very last minute that no further damage was caused. As on every Monday morning, just before lunchtime, thousands of employees were at work in the Olympia Werks which was only 300 metres away from the site of the crash. Experts said later that in relation to the speed of the aircraft a few hundred metres is practicaly nothing. It is difficult to imagine the number of casualties there would have been if the fully armed Swift had crashed into the factory.
The pilot ejected just prior to the aircraft hitting the ground. The cause of the crash was an engine failure over the sea. The RAF had attempted to guide the aircraft back to its home base at Jever but this could not be reached. Once the pilot was sure that he had done everything humanly possible to avoid any casualties he ejected out of the aircraft. Due to the low altitude of ejection the parachute did not open fully and the pilot suffered facial injury and bruises.
The Wilhelmshaven Fire Brigade quickly reached the site of the crash and extinguished the blazing cockpit which had slid 50 metres further on over the main road. The fuselage section had broken off several trees. RAF personnel cleared away the ammunition that was scattered over the area of the crash."
Sources:
Air Britain RAF Aircraft WA100 - WZ999
http://www.rafjever.org/2sqnacc001.htm
http://www.ukserials.com/prodlists.php?type=1076
http://web.archive.org/web/20170624000012/http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com:80/Swift.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20171123224900/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/swift/swift.htm
http://www.rafjever.org/sharecurrentk.htm#Martin2
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Jun-2008 22:03 | JINX | Added |
| 14-Apr-2013 02:47 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 20-Jun-2015 21:32 | AlLah | Updated [Operator, Location] |
| 09-Apr-2024 10:14 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Operator] |
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