Date:	Wednesday 25 September 1991
Time:
Type:	BAe Harrier T.4A
Owner/operator:	1(F) Sqn RAF
Registration:	XZ147
MSN:	212028
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Great Driffield, East Yorkshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Birdstrike (black-headed gull) at 250 ft. Pilot hit in face by bird remains which covered his visor and ripped his mask off. Both on board ejected: Officer Cadet Kate Saunders suffered serious burns after landing amongst blazing wreckage. Pilot - Sqn. Ldr. Ashley D. Stevenson - also ejected safely.

Anecdote: "RAF Harrier T4A XZ147/S of 233 OCU. A female cadet was seriously injured after ejecting from a Royal Air Force. Harrier T.4 near Driffield, northern England. Officer Cadet Kate Saunders, 22, suffered a broken leg, broken pelvis, crushed vertebrae, and 20% burns when her parachute descended into the fireball of the crashed Harrier. The pilot Sqn. Ldr. Ashley D. Stevenson of No 1(F) Sqn suffered a broken jaw and landed nearby, then pulled his passenger from fire. Saunders is the first female to eject from an RAF aircraft. Stevenson received both a Queen's Commendation and the Royal Humane Society medal"

Sqn. Ldr. Stevenson had previously ejected on 17th October 1990 from Harrier GR.5 ZD355 (which see)

http://www.ukserials.com/pdflosses/maas_19910925_xz147.pdf
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1991/1991%20-%202618.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20161217162442/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/harrier/harrier.htm
http://www.int-birdstrike.org/London_Papers/IBSC23%20WP2.pdf]Serious birdstrike-related accidents to military aircraft of Europe and Israel: list and analysis of circumstances / W. John Richardson (Published in International 8ird Strike Committee Proceedings and Papers 23)[/url]

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
14-Jul-2010 11:08	harro	Updated [Date, Total fatalities, Location, Country, Source, Narrative]
06-Aug-2010 13:09	harro	Updated [Total occupants, Location, Source, Narrative]
15-Aug-2011 22:22	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
06-Apr-2015 19:15	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]
14-Nov-2017 18:47	Possel47	Updated [Operator, Narrative]
14-Nov-2018 15:23	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator]
25-Sep-2021 08:58	Anon.	Updated [Location]