ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 56116
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Saturday 7 July 1979 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Fairchild-Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II |
| Owner/operator: | 81st TFWg USAF |
| Registration: | 77-0253 |
| MSN: | A10-0178 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RAF Chicksands, Bedfordshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Woodbridge, Suffolk |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A-10A, 77-0253/WR, 81st TFW: Written off 7/7/1979: crashed at RAF Chicksands, Bedfordshire.
The pilot was Colonel Tommy Thompson. He was the 81st TFW Assistant Deputy Commander for Operations (ADO). He was also the USAFE A-10 Aerial Demonstration Pilot. The accident occurred at RAF Chicksands during an air demo. Col Thompson was killed in the accident. Later investigation revealed evidence of a sideways ejection.
This accident along with a slew of other accidents and mishaps was most likely the result of Foreign Objects being left in the “White Area” of the A-10 at the factory – a supposedly sealed area in the cockpit where the normal hydraulic operated flight controls met with the manual reversion flight controls.
After another two A-10 air demo accidents at Nellis in 1981 there was an incident at Bentwaters where a pilot from the 510th TFS experienced flight control binding, that locked the aircraft into a dive. Luckly this pilot had enough altitude and strength to break the flight controls free. The airplane was grounded after landing, and a pen was found in the White Area. This led to a grounding of the entire A-10 fleet, where all White Areas were reinspected and several other foreign objects were found that could be traced to the Fairchild factory.
A number of A-10 accident widows sued Fairchild over the deaths of their husbands
Sources:
1. http://www.scramble.nl (Scramble 256)
2. http://warthogaircraftdatabase.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/fy-1977-aircraft.html
3. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1977.html
4. http://web.archive.org/web/20171019033444/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/A-10_Thunderbolt_II.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-May-2013 21:20 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Date, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 04-Dec-2013 03:59 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Total fatalities, Location, Phase, Narrative] |
| 27-Dec-2014 12:19 | davemartin88 | Updated [Narrative] |
| 26-Feb-2015 06:32 | Davemartin88 | Updated [Narrative] |
| 11-Apr-2018 05:53 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 12-Jun-2020 15:54 | AlLach | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation