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Date: | Wednesday 24 October 1956 |
Time: | day |
Type: | Hawker Hunter F Mk 4 |
Owner/operator: | CFS RAF |
Registration: | XF999 |
MSN: | HABL/003154 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | 3 miles east of RAF Kemble, Gloucestershire -
United Kingdom
|
Phase: | Initial climb |
Nature: | Training |
Departure airport: | RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire |
Destination airport: | RAF Kemble, Gloucestershire |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:Hawker Hunter F.Mk.4 XF999: Built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd at Blackpool, Lancashire. Delivered 20/7/1956 to 45 MU RAF. Sole operational service career was with the CFS (Central Flying School), RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire from 7/9/1956. The Hunter was delivered as a replacement for Hunter F.Mk.4 XF980, which had been destroyed in a mid air collision with Gloster Javelin XA644 on 24/8/1956 (which see)
Written off (destroyed) 24/10/56: Crashed three miles east of Kemble, Gloucestershire after control failure while in the circuit for Kemble. Undercarriage was partially lowered, but jammed in this position; aircraft then rolled, and was abandoned inverted. The pilot ejected through the canopy but the ejection sequence was not completed, and the pilot was killed. The board of inquiry attributed the cause of the accident to hydraulic failure leading to control difficulties and "out of balance forces" while flying in turbulent conditions.
Crew of Hunter XF999:
Flight Lieutenant Charles Martin HARCOURT, RAF (pilot, Service Number 4021911, aged 27) - killed on active service 24/10/1956
Sources:
1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.183 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft XA100-XZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 34)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.218
4. RAF Little Rissington: The Central Flying School 1946-76 p.306 By R. Deacon, A. Pollock, M. Thomas, R. Bagshaw
5. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/366:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424487 6.
http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=XF 7.
http://www.planetrace.co.uk/1950-1959_26.html 8.
http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1956.htm 9.
https://www.aviation-links.co.uk/Gloucestershire%20Aircraft%20Accidents.pdf Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
10-Jan-2009 11:55 |
ASN archive |
Added |
10-Mar-2012 19:15 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
27-Mar-2013 00:08 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Cn, Source, Narrative] |
20-Nov-2018 16:00 |
Nepa |
Updated [Operator, Nature, Operator] |
22-Jan-2020 18:03 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
22-Jan-2020 18:05 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Source] |
22-Jan-2020 23:05 |
stehlik49 |
Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Operator] |
13-Jul-2020 23:26 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
14-Jul-2020 08:27 |
Yarbi |
Updated [Operator, Location, Operator] |