ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 55006
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| Date: | Monday 11 May 1964 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Canadair CF-104 Starfighter |
| Owner/operator: | Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) |
| Registration: | 12811 |
| MSN: | 863A-1111 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Zweibrücken -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | 3 Wing – RCAF Station Zweibrücken, Germany |
| 3 Wing – RCAF Station Zweibrücken, Germany | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
2 October 1962 - Taken on strength. With No. 434 (ST/A) Squadron at Zweibrücken, Germany. Crashed on 11 May 1964. Account by Flt Lt Bentham himself:
"My rudder failure occured at about 200 feet above the ground in France about 30 minutes from 3 wing in Zwiebrucken Germany. There was a very severe yaw to the left and the rudder pedals could be pushed without the normal resistance in either direction without results. The only way direction could be maintained was to introduce about 20 degrees of bank to the right. I gained altitude and flew back to 3 Wing in this attitude. After informing the tower of my problems I made 4 or 5 attempts to land but on each approach I could not hold the centre line and had to go around. Since the rudder pedals gave absolutley no resistance and produced no effect I was afraid I would have no nose wheel steering and no brakes and technical people on the ground could not assure me that they would be available.
Since there was a strong crosswind at 3 Wing I decided to try an American base which was not to far away and the runway was more into wind. On my approach to this base I realized I was over a heavily populated area and my fuel was getting very low. Rather than risk a flame-out and still unsure if I could land safely I decided to proceed to the bail-out area which was only a few minutes flying time away and eject.
The ejection went as expected and the aircraft went into the ground vertically with no resulting fire. When the investigating team arrived at the wreckage they found the rudder hydraulic control access panel at eye level and discovered one control rod disconnected giving full power to the opposing rod. A very simple investigation."
DFS: The control rod was disconnected because a cotter pin had not been installed (probably during manufacture) in a bolt in the rudder assembly. The missing cotter pin had escaped detection on two periodic inspections. The bolt had worked free and a spring had pushed the rudder to full left deflection.
28 May 1964 - Struck off charge
Sources:
RCAF DFS "Flight Comment" 1965-1 JAN.FEB (Pg 22)
http://www.rwrwalker.ca/RCAF_12801_12850_detailed.htm
http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/PROJECT/Biographies/B/Bentham_L_J/Bentham_LJ.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Aug-2011 04:59 | Uli Elch | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Total occupants] |
| 17-Jan-2013 16:19 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Jan-2013 16:20 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport] |
| 05-Apr-2013 08:04 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 05-Jun-2013 06:26 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 20-Oct-2014 13:09 | Anon. | Updated [Date] |
| 07-Apr-2016 20:09 | yukonjack | Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Oct-2018 20:20 | TB | Updated [Location, Source] |
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