ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 155021
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| Date: | Tuesday 3 May 1977 |
| Time: | 11:00 |
| Type: |  English Electric Canberra PR.9 |
| Owner/operator: | 39 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | XH137 |
| MSN: | SH.1727 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Norfolk Road, Oxmoor housing estate, Hartford, Cambridgeshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire |
| RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Crashed into houses on the Norfolk Road, Oxmoor housing estate, Hartford, Cambridgeshire, after loss of control during a practice asymmetric approach to Wyton, with one engine at flight idle.
When full power was applied to the "good" engine the rudder had insufficient authority to counter the torque, resulting in the fin stalling and the inevitable tragic result.
The Board Of Inquiry requested a subsequent trial to prove this theory. It was performed at high altitude by a test pilot (flying without a navigator) in Canberra PR.9 XH176.
Both crew and three people on the ground were killed.Crew of XH137:
Flt/Lt John Philip Armitage. Pilot, and
Flt/Lt Lawrence Andrew Davies, Navigator.
According to some reports, the pilot stayed with his aircraft to steer the Canberra away from Sapley Park school. The three civilians killed were all small children, reportedly in the bathroom of the house that took the full force of the impact
Per eyewitness report: "I was NCO in charge of the two recovery teams sent from Repair & Salvage Flight at RAF Abingdon.
I arrived that evening with the section W/O to survey the site to determine what equipment would be needed for recovery. When we arrived the two crew had been removed as had the children. The houses were relatively unscathed with the tail unit stood up against one of them. Our biggest problem was that the aircraft had impacted between the two rows of houses immediately on top of the various services, water electricity, etc.
The following days the remains of the aircraft were removed to a hangar at Wyton under the supervision of the AAIB and laid out in their correct positions to aid the investigation. I do believe the aircraft was carrying out a full assymetric with the engine shut down. After this accident I believe the procedure changed to reducing the power on one engine to idle."
Per a report in "Hansard" (the official record of the UK Parliament):
"The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Frederick Mulley): Shortly after 11 a.m. yesterday, a Canberra aircraft of No. 39 Squadron was returning to its base at RAF Wyton, near Huntingdon, after a routine training flight. About two miles from the end of the runway, it crashed by some houses in the estate of Oxmoor in the village of Hartford, north-east of Huntingdon. Three young children were killed and five people were injured, of whom two are detained in hospital. The two RAF members of the crew were also killed.
It is too early to identify the cause of the accident. A board of inquiry was set up yesterday. The weather was good. The crew members did not use their ejector seats. I am sure that the House will wish to join me in expressing great sympathy to the parents and relatives of the little children and of the crew who died and to those who were injured. All emergency services reacted very quickly, and I should like to thank them and the members of the public at the scene of the accident for the ready assistance they rendered."
Sources:
1. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1977.htm
2. http://www.voy.com/116952/158.html
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_military_aircraft_(1975%E2%80%931979)
4. https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?98768-39-Sqn-Canberra-Crash-3-May-1977&p=1549611#post1549611
5. https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1977/1977
6. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1977/may/04/raf-canberra-accident-huntingdon
7. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-39793531
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Apr-2013 23:24 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 12-Apr-2013 23:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Embed code] |
| 13-Apr-2013 07:29 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 09-May-2015 06:13 | swapeman | Updated [Narrative] |
| 09-May-2015 06:57 | swapeman | Updated [Narrative] |
| 14-Mar-2018 21:10 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, Source, Embed code] |
| 19-Dec-2023 15:29 | Anon. | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
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