October 7, 2009 at 9:01 pm
I came across the following entry in the “Losses” column on the UK military a/c serials web site;
27/04/1964 XN785 C Lightning F2 92 Sqn Crashed during an attempted forced landing at the disused airfield at Hutton Cranswick, Humberside. The pilot had been trying to reach Leconfield short of fuel due to a systems fault. He did not eject and was killed.
I got thinking about an incident I heard about in the 90s whilst working at Atomic energy research establishment Harwell (formally RAF Harwell between 1930s and 1945).
During the 60s a USAF T33 mistook Harwell’s disused runway for an active one -probably RAF Abingdon a few miles north of Harwell- and landed. Once down he needed the assistance of RATO bottles to get airborne again, however as some of the bottles failed to ignite the aircraft left the runway and slid across the grass toward some of the establishments buildings.
Needless to say the incident and the possible out come had the aircraft hit a building containing sensitive material, worried the management to the extent they had the disused runway covered with earth and grassed over.
I also recall a Ryan Air flight landing at the old RAF Ballykelly runway thinking he was at Derry/Londonderry Airport.
Anyone got any other info on aircraft landing on disused runways whether by accident or due to an emergency?