Test Flying Memorial
"...and everywhere the
blue sky belongs to them
and is their appointed rest
and their native country"
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
| Date | 01/05/1970 |
|---|---|
| Casualties | Maj J.R. Weaver USAF, Flt Lt G.W.E. Foster AFM, B Squadron A&AEE FTO |
| Aircraft | English Electric Canberra TT Mk 18 WJ632 |
| Took off from | Boscombe Down, Wiltshire |
| Purpose of flight | Asymmetric assessment |
| Incident location | Lyme Bay, Dorset |
| Incident details | Pilot lost control whilst attempting to establish single engine safety speed at 4,000ft; with his concentration on using aileron instead of rudder, the sideslip limits were exceeded. The fin stalled and the aircraft spun into the sea. Navigator J. Nicol was rescued by helicopter, the pilot drowned and the observer was never found. |
| Web link | Aviation Safety Network entry |