Aviation history is full of such accidents. A B-52 at Malstrom AFB (?)
was being piloted by a hot dog senior officer. He tried making a tight turn at
low altitude, got into an accelerated stall, and crashed nose and wingtip
first, killing everyone aboard.
A C-141 crashed at Sondestrom AB in 1976 with a heavy load of fuel. It
landed hard, bounced, became airborne, stalled, and a friend of mine was the
firt to die when it hit the ground banking to the right. The aircrew had been
out partying the night before.
During WWII a demonstreation flight of a Waco assault glider ended
tragically when a wing strut failed, killing a number of executives and
dignataries. Those gliders killed more allied servicemen than any German
weapon.
A pre-production C-130H wa demonstrating high-angle takeoff capability at
Warner-Robins AFB when the #4 engine failed, and the aircraft quickly banked to
the right, stalled, and crashed just off the runway.
There are lots of other examples, but these come first to mind.
Chris
>
>The very first Vulcan delivered to RAF provided the first example of the
>front seat crew ejecting, while the rest (+1 civilian passenger!)
>perished... at London Heathrow airport of all places... and (strange to
>relate), the Vulcan did not have ILS fitted... yet the Air Marshal up front
>(perfectly normal, no doubt) allegedly insisted on landing in very poor
>weather. RIP three squadron leaders and one Avro technical advisor.
>
>Memorable for all the wrong reasons.
>
>Google XA897.
>
>
>> It’s horrible, John! I only ever entered a Vulcan like that, as a
>> visitor. I never flew the dreadful machine.
>>
>> Yes, the rear crew have departed successfully through the lower hatch. In
>> fact, on one occasion a crewman forgot to detach his mic/tel lead and
>> remained stuck in the hatch as a result; his two colleagues passed him by
>> before he could retrieve himself and attempt another escape – successful
>> this time.
>>
>> A colleague of mine on Jaguars had flown Vulcans before his conversion to
>> fast jets. He had occasion to eject once, but only after the rear crew and
>> copilot had gone. Apparently he flew it for a minute or two with the roof
>> hatch gone, just to see what it was like.
>>
>> There have been at least two instances where the rear crew could not
>> escape because the aircraft was too low – as ChrisT was relating about the
>> “Buff”.
>>
>> >
>> > I went on a MX5 run on Sunday to the Gloucestershire Jet Age Museum.
>> > One of the exhibits was the "front end" of a Vulcan Bomber also known
>> > as the Tin Triangle. Hmmmm !! Respect for all who flew in them. As
>> > Chris B has said before visibility can be likened to looking through
>> > a keyhole. My not too nimble frame had great difficulty getting into
>> > a front seat and then the centre console was pulled into place. I do
>> > not know how they could have ejected without leaving skin and
>> > possibly parts of their anatomy behind!!!The Navigator, bombardier
>> > and engineer had marginally more room, but sliding out of the escape
>> > hatch was a risky business at best. Did any crews successfully
>> > "escape" Survival did not seem to uppermost in the designers mind. I
>> > can now see where Chris was coming from when he said he was glad they
>> > are all grounded. A VERY interesting visit.
>> > Regards John Duggan, Wales, UK
>>
>
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