I was doing some research and came across a newspaper clipping saying that an upper heyford based EF111A 66-0056 crashed into the mill near the old airbase at Finmere bucks.
Does anyone have any recollections or information about the crash or any injuries?
curlyboy
By: Arabella-Cox - 14th August 2006 at 17:29
You sound disappointed they survived.
There comes a point (total control systems failure…electronic or hydraulic ) with a lot of modern AC where the crew staying with the AC isn’t going to do anything except get them killed.
I was quoting from a local who described their escape capsule as ‘comfy’ i have seen one up close and they dont look anything special.
Apparently the pilot was going to try to land at the airfield but did not know the runway is now tiny and not really in a condition to take a 30 ton aircraft.
Thing is with the F111 if one pilot decides to go they both go, no command ejection with one, but if it had a total systems failure how did it end up in a mill and not n the big fields opposite ?
curlyboy
By: Arm Waver - 14th August 2006 at 08:54
I was working at UH when both of those happened.
We had a VAC event shortly after the Spark Vark crash and my dad managed to get a flight and took an air to ground shot of the site…
Try this link for Heyford recollections and the like.
http://www.raf-upper-heyford.org/index.html
By: G-ORDY - 14th August 2006 at 07:50
Another one came down in 1972/73 (we covered it on the front page of “Aviation News”) I’ll dig out a copy if anyone is interested.
By: J Boyle - 14th August 2006 at 00:43
…. ran to help the crew from their (nice comfy) escape capsule.
You sound disappointed they survived.
There comes a point (total control systems failure…electronic or hydraulic ) with a lot of modern AC where the crew staying with the AC isn’t going to do anything except get them killed.
By: Malcolm Payne - 13th August 2006 at 21:55
F111
I was flying from OATS at the time of the F111 that crashed short of 09. We had experienced a sudden complete reversal of the wind direction at about the same time and our controllers were interviewed by the investigating team. It was considered possible that they experienced the same situation and would have had a sudden wind reversal on short final with resulting loss of lift.
By: Moggy C - 13th August 2006 at 17:39
68-0052 Crashed and destroyed 17 September 1992. Crashed on landing RAF Upper Heyford Rwy 09. Unsuccessful ejection attempted after ground impact short of the threshold.
Almost certainly the one.
Doesn’t time fly?
Moggy
By: Thunderbird167 - 13th August 2006 at 17:35
66-0056 20FW 42nd ECS. ‘UH’ Crashed and destroyed 2 April 1992 at Barton Hartshorn near Finmere Buckinghamshire UK due to a fuel duct failure. (Doc Servo). No casualties. Pilot. CAPT Jeff Coombe and WSO. CAPT David Gevenish ejected and survived
Moggy, I Think this is probably the other one as tey had all returned to the US by the end of 1993
68-0052 Crashed and destroyed 17 September 1992. Crashed on landing RAF Upper Heyford Rwy 09. Unsuccessful ejection attempted after ground impact short of the threshold. The module had been damaged in the initial ground impact, and subsequently did not achieve sufficient altitude to permit proper parachute deployment. (info from Don Logan’s F-111 Aardvark reference book.) FATAL. CAPT Jerry C. Lindh and MAJ D. Michael McGuire did not survive
Source www.f-111.net
By: BIGVERN1966 - 13th August 2006 at 16:36
The 20th TFW flew the ‘E’ model and ‘EF’………the ‘F’ model lived at Lakenheath with the 48th TFW.
Are you sure about the date of the perimeter fence crash Moggy?……..I thought the F-111’s went home early 93?
48th FW had an a couple of F-15E’s at Mildenhall in May 1993 (came down from Valley just to see it). 20th TFW had gone by then as far as I knew.
By: The Bump - 13th August 2006 at 16:01
The 20th TFW flew the ‘E’ model and ‘EF’………the ‘F’ model lived at Lakenheath with the 48th TFW.
Are you sure about the date of the perimeter fence crash Moggy?……..I thought the F-111’s went home early 93?
By: Moggy C - 13th August 2006 at 11:52
Another came down just outside the Heyford threshold fence around 1995/6.
Both crewmembers died in that and the locals built a little ad hoc garden at the spot.
Moggy
By: Propstrike - 13th August 2006 at 10:44
It was right here.
By: paulmcmillan - 13th August 2006 at 10:28
It was the 02/04/1992 a 42nd ECS EF-111A 66-0056 crashes at the Dalgety food plant, Barton Hartshorn, near Finmere, Bucks, UK shortly after take off from RAF Upper Heyford, the 2 crew ejected safely
Source US Military Aircraft Mishaps 1950-2004
By: Arabella-Cox - 13th August 2006 at 10:21
Where they ?, i could only find 1 clipping from the crash and that was not the most helpful including how a woman from a farm about 2 miles away ran to help the crew from their (nice comfy) escape capsule.
I cant really find any reason there is something about a fuel failure ? but nothing concrete ?
It is just i dont remember seeing anything about the crash as i dont live that far from Buckingham it would have been on the local news for a week.
The other question was the EF111A based at UH as i thought they just flew the F model from there ?
curlyboy
By: Propstrike - 13th August 2006 at 10:12
As you say, An F111 did crash into the car park of an industrial unit on the perimeter of Finmere in about 1993 or thereabouts.
About a dozen cars were incinerated, and the wall of the building was scorched, but nobody was hurt. In a change to the usual tabloid script, the crew did not ‘stay with their doomed plane’ but hopped out as soon as things looked a bit tricky, about half way back across Oxfordshire. The local press was a bit agitated about it all.
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August 13, 2006 at 9:40 am