Test Flying Memorial
"...and everywhere the
blue sky belongs to them
and is their appointed rest
and their native country"
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
| Date | 05/07/1955 |
|---|---|
| Casualties | Lt Cdr Tony A. Rickell, RN - A&AEE TP |
| Aircraft | Supermarine 525 VX138 |
| Took off from | Boscombe Down, Wiltshire |
| Purpose of flight | Preliminary handling assessment (pilot's first flight in aircraft) |
| Incident location | Idmiston, Wiltshire |
| Incident details | Entered spin at 10,000ft which flattened and became irrecoverable. Canopy would not separate when jettisoned as no forward airspeed to lift it. Pilot had to remove his helmet to be able to reach the ejection handle on top of the seat, delaying his escape further. He finally ejected at only 200ft, through the canopy. The pilot sustained fatal injuries in a heavy landing in the seat with his parachute only partly deployed. |