ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 94265
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Friday 7 June 1974 |
| Time: | 12:00 |
| Type: |  Hawker Hunter FGA.9 |
| Owner/operator: | 45 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | XG130 |
| MSN: | S4/U/3366 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Dalby Woods, Grimston, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire (EGXT) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Written off 17/06/1974: The pilot (Flt. Lt. I. C. Firth) lost control of the aircraft after becoming disorientated while in cloud and ejected. The aircraft crashed near to a railway tunnel at Dalby Woods, Grimston, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. According to contemporary press and eyewitness reports:
"When I was at Ferneley High School in the 1970s (1971-1974) sometime between 1971 and 1973 a plane was hit by lightning over the school. It crashed on the embankment near Grimston and apparently (according to the news at the time) narrowly missed the APT-E. It slid down the embankment on the Northern side and ended up on the test track.
It must have been about 12 noon as I was just on my way home across the fields towards Nottingham Road for lunch. The pilot ejected and I was the first to get to him, he was all cut up on the head but could walk alright. The plane had passed over my parents house on Alvaston Road, I asked him about it and he said he'd pointed into some woods. (I guessed Dalby Woods).
A couple of days later, my dad took me and a couple of brothers over to Dalby/Grimston and we went down the track. The wreckage had been cleared but I did pick up a piece of aluminium fuselage.'The pilot ejected in fog and landed in the John Ferneley School grounds. We kids ran out of lessons to see the fuss, I remember a helicopter came to pick the pilot up, The plane ended up near a derelict house and its engine carved a furrow in the British Rail Test track just after the new HST had entered a tunnel. My dad went to the crash site and "claimed" a piece of wreckage for a souvenir. I recall he said the area was being guarded by RAF personnel from Wittering.
Engine landed on British Rail Test Track shortly after a new High Speed 125 train has passed and entered tunnel. Guard on train felt bang, looked back and saw the engine on the track. Pilot ejected safely-landing in local school yard. Crash guard sent overnight from Wittering. Wreckage cleared by RAF Benson crash recovery team the next day. Some wreckage still buried deep in impact area."
Sources:
1. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1974.htm
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20170818203747/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/project/year_pages/1974.htm#jun
3. https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1196009/
4. http://www.old-dalby.com/plane_crash_near_grimston.htm
5. http://www.huntertheaircraft.co.uk/page43.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Apr-2013 16:38 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Date, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Jul-2015 16:54 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 09-Aug-2022 05:23 | JJ | Updated [Date] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation