ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 155022
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| Date: | Tuesday 7 January 1969 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  English Electric Canberra PR Mk 9 |
| Owner/operator: | 13 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | XH164 |
| MSN: | SH.1728 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Addolorata Cemetery 1½ miles ENE of RAF Luqa -
 Malta
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus (AKT/LCRA) |
| RAF Luqa, Malta | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Written off 07/01/1969: Rolled to port, crashed inverted and exploded near Addolorata Cemetery, 1½ miles ENE of Luqa, Malta while on approach to Luqa. The two crew were killed
Canberra PR.9 XH130 crashed in Malta on 25/03/1969 in very similar circumstances (which see).
Per eyewitness report:
"With reference to the two 13 Squadron Canberra PR.9s that crashed in Malta. I was on 39 Squadron in 1970 and we were well aware that something 'odd' had happened and had been checking flying controls and autopilot systems on the whole fleet.
The finger was pointed at the hydraulic powered flying control system on the ailerons and the tail plane trim actuator. The powered ailerons were only fitted to the PR.9 to my knowledge and although nothing could be found, it was thought that a fault in this system could have caused the accidents as both the aircraft were reported to have rolled and crashed inverted.
The autopilot system was ruled out as it was unlikely to have been selected when the accidents occurred. The aircrew were warned to be cautious if the aircraft 'twitched' in the roll axis and I can remember at least one aircraft returning, having declared an emergency, with the navigators escape hatch missing!
In the PR.9, the navigator was in a closed compartment in the nose and although he could eject through a frangible hatch it was considered preferable to jettison it first. That crew reported that they had experienced an aileron twitch and gave serious thought to ejecting.
We never found anything conclusive and eventually everything went quiet and flying returned to normal, but it took about a year for the aircrew to settle down. Quite understandably they would, like the rest of us,like to have known what the cause of the accidents was. If the cause was ever identified, I never got to hear about it."
Sources:
http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1969.htm
https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1025798/
http://www.aviationinmalta.com/MilitaryAviation/AccidentsMilitary/19601969/tabid/652/language/en-US/Default.aspx
https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/101153-raf-canberra-losses-malta.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Apr-2013 23:51 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 13-Apr-2013 07:24 | Nepa | Updated [Location] |
| 13-Apr-2013 07:37 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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