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| Date: | Monday 18 February 1985 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Lockheed F-104G Starfighter |
| Owner/operator: | MFG2 Marineflieger |
| Registration: | 26+70 |
| MSN: | 7416 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Hesselteich/Versmold -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Eggebek AB |
Mid-air collision with RAF Harrier T4 (XW933) during low-level navigation training at 500 ft AGL over Osnabrück, killing the rear seat pilot of the Harrier instantly; pilot of the Harrier ejected; Starfighter pilot KptLt Ralf Gorath tried to make emergency landing at Gütersloh but ejected due to fire warning; the Harrier crashed at Bad Laer.
Harrier T.4 serial XW933/AQ collided mid-air with German Marineflieger F-104G 26+70 near the German/Dutch border while flying at 500’.
Shortly after a morning takeoff from RAF Gutersloh, with the front seat pilot flying, at an altitude of 500’ the pilot spotted a German Marine F-104 at his 10 o’clock position at 50 yards and slightly high. The pilot bunted and rolled right in an attempt to miss. Almost immediately the two aircraft collided and the Harrier went into a steep descent and did not respond to control inputs. He shouted “ejecting!”.
Front seat trainee pilot ejected both. But rear-seat instructor had been killed on the initial impact and did not survive.
The F-104 was on a low-level visual navigation flight from Fürstenfeldbruck on its way home to Eggebeck). Its pilot was consulting his map when he felt the collision. He thought he had suffered a bird strike. He climbed and turned toward RAF Gutersloh declaring an Emergency. 20-to-30 seconds later there were Fuel Low and Fire Warning lights. The pilot then saw that his starboard wing had been damaged. He transmitted that his aircraft was on fire and safely ejected.
Surviving Harrier pilot, Flying Officer K.B. McCann
Deceased Harrier pilot was Squadron Leader Albert Bruce Cogram.
Sources:
http://web.archive.org/web/20171029225354/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_Type/GermanF104.htm
http://www.916-starfighter.de/Large/2670.htm
http://www.ukserials.com/
Hamburger Abendblatt 19.2.1985
MOD – Military Aircraft Accident Summary Harrier T.4 XW933
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Jun-2011 13:47 | TB | Added |
| 04-Jun-2011 14:40 | TB | Updated [Time, Narrative, ] |
| 04-Jun-2011 14:46 | TB | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 05-Jun-2011 14:08 | TB | Updated [Phase, Departure airport, Source, ] |
| 24-Jun-2011 15:16 | TB | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 30-Oct-2019 20:41 | TB | Updated [Operator, Source, ] |
| 12-Jan-2020 21:48 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 30-Jan-2020 08:16 | TB | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 05-Feb-2020 19:45 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator, ] |
| 02-Jul-2024 10:59 | ChrisB | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 20-Jun-2025 17:26 | TB | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, ] |
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