Date:	Wednesday 26 February 1958
Time:	12:10 LT
Type:	Gloster Javelin FAW.7
Owner/operator:	Gloster Aircraft Co Ltd
Registration:	XH714
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	New Forest, Sandford, near Ringwood, Hampshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Test
Departure airport:	RAF Boscombe Down, Wiltshire (EGDM)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Javelin FAW.7 XH714, Gloster Aircraft Co Ltd: Written off (destroyed) 26/2/58 - Took off from Boscombe Down at 11.11am on the 26/2/58 for an air test - it was a routine test flight after major servicing and, if the pilot was satisfied, he was briefed to continue the flight as a continuation of reliability trials.

The pilot was involuntarily ejected at 5,000 feet and 400 knots due the seat top latch not being secured. The pilot's ejection seat (a Martin-Baker Type 3J) moved upward on its rail during a negative-g turn. The pilot was held into his seat by one thigh strap which had failed to release, and he plunged to his death when the parachute failed to open properly.

The navigator ejected at 2,000 feet, but his seat was damaged on leaving the aircraft. The seat drogue disconnected early and he left the seat at insufficient height for his parachute to deploy, and he was also killed. The aircraft crashed in the New Forest at Sandford, near Ringwood, Hampshire

The aircraft was completely destroyed, with both engines buried below 4 metres into the ground. The only avionics equipment recovered from the crash site was one plug and socket identified as from the IFF equipment. Engine generators were "twisted like corkscrews".

Crew of Javelin XH714:
Flight Lt R.S. May, "A" Squadron A&AEE Test Pilot - killed 26/2/58 as per the above
Flying Officer J.M.V. Coates, "A" Squadron A&AEE (navigator) - killed 26/2/58 as per the above

The Board of Inquiry found the following RAF personnel responsible for the deaths of the two officers:

Junior Tech William Earps and Junior Tech Leslie Pope for failing to secure the top latch of the pilot's ejector seat when they refitted the seat in February 1958. Verdict - Negligent. Chief Tech Edward McKenna and Sgt Hugh Carter for failing to inspect the correct security of the latch. Verdict - Negligent. Junior Tech Alistair Whitehead, indirectly responsible in that he failed to inspect the latch correctly on 25th February 1958. Verdict - Negligent. Corporal Tech Joseph Hoadley. Verdict - Negligent

The reported crash location of Sandford is a small hamlet in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. The nearest town to Sandford is Ringwood, which is approximately 2.6 miles (4.1 km) north from the hamlet at approximate co ordinates 50.816410°N 1.767818°W. Note that some sources have the crash location as "Kingston, Hampshire" which is approximately 2 miles north north west of Sandford.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.195 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft XA100-XZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 2001 p 43)
3. Gloster Javelin: An Operation History By Michael Napier p 39
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/399: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424520
5. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/38/S2911: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578691
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=XH
7. https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/memorial/entry.php?id=254
8. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1958.htm
9. https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1012680
10. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=5768.0;wap2
11. http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/hancrash.html
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandford,_Hampshire

Gloster Javelin FAW.7 XH714 at the Farnborough Air Show in September 1957

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
24-Jan-2020 21:31	Dr. John Smith	Added