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Reply To: Harrier GR1 Ejection

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#946639
mulhuis
Participant

I remember this well. Was watching the rehearsal from outside the barrack block 2 by the fire station when we heard the engines of the harriers as they lifted off from the beach. As they rose just above the cliff tops one harrier peeled away and the other seemed to hover for a second. There was a change in engine pitch and then suddenly we saw the canopy blow and the pilot eject. The plane veered seawards then turned and came down in the sports field at Happy Valley. The pilot landed in the burning wreckage and had it not been for the quick action of a PTI nearby the result may of been worse than a broken ankle. We spent the next couple of days guarding the wreckage while awaiting crash analysts from the UK. I also remember a search going on as only 3 rockets fired on the ejector seat. I believe the fourth was found on the hillside. If memory serves me correctly this picture was taken by a young lad with an Instamatic camera and appeared on the front pages of many national papers next day. I still have photo’s that I took of the fire power display which continued within the next few days.