Spits down B17

Talking of Hunters……

I remember reading an article about a Danish F51 Hunter being abandoned a few miles out from the air base after the pilot got into difficulty. The aircraft not only made it back to base but landed on the runway all be it in a wheels up landing. I even believe the aircraft was repaired and continued to fly with the Danish AF!

The article had a picture of the jet on the runway so will have to dig out the article!

Phil.

Still remarkable all the same, making a nice controlled flight until coming to rest in an alley jammed between two houses:eek:

Tintagel unmanned Hunter

The tintagel Hunter hadn’t gone far really, just from over the sea adjacent to the town.

It was on its way down with a failed fuel unit when the pilot baled out at a few hundred feet above the water.

Without the weight of the pilot and seat its nose rose slightly and the aircraft shallow climbed and turned inland before impacting in the main street of Tintagel. It certainly didn’t fly on, pilotless, for tens or hundreds of miles.

However, a great story with, remarkably, a not-unhappy outcome. No-one killed on the ground and no more than a very sore back from the kick up the backside from the gun-only (no rocket pack on those early seats) Mk.2 ejection seat for the pilot Alick Nicholson.

Alick is still alive and well and living in Cumbria.

Anon

The story on the unmanned MiG-23 crash in Kortrijk, Belgium as quoted by TonyT in reply 14, but with pictures of this crash:

http://www.englishrussia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2197&sid=3a96694bd29fa883a483c9bcf61e58ca

Tillerman.

The most famous one being of course LADY BE GOOD!!!

Bomberboy

Far more similar to the content of the original post was the Harrier where the pilot safely ejected and a Lightning was sent up to shoot down the aircraft as it maintained level flight.
However despite the acount being told on reputable sites I’ve never seen mention of any hard details of the event, such as units, crew names, bases, or serials involved and wonder if it’s one of those urban myths developed out of an event like this, post #13 http://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/177593-lightning-shootdown-harrier.html

And also

http://www.456fis.org/GARY_YOU_BETTER_GET_BACK_IN_IT.htm

Whatever it was, Lowe is said to have yelled into his radio, “Gary, you better get back in it!”

At that point, all that Foust could do was watch as his fighter flew off, without him.

Gary Foust, dangling from his parachute ropes, landed safely in a mountainous area and was brought out later by locals on snowmobiles. This, after all, was February in Montana.

As the fighter neared the ground, it stayed level and made what is described as an approach for a perfect landing in a snowy field, sans landing gear.

The F-106 wasn’t safe yet, however. “Skidding across the snow, the aircraft veered around a rock pile that was sitting in the middle of the field,” the Mohawk Flyer reported. “The -106 finally stopped near the end of the field, about 400 yards from a paved road.”

A local law enforcement officer called Malmstrom to report that he had come upon a fighter that was on the ground, pilotless, and still running. Even the radar scope was still operating. The lawman wanted to know how to turn off the engine. Someone at the base told him to just let it run out of fuel.

The engine continued to run for one hour and 45 minutes.

The Harrier pilot was found to the West of Boscombe Down and his name was Taylor-Scott.
What I found amazing about that accident was the fact that following a search most of the canopy pieces were recovered apart from some that were punched out by the drouge parachute rocket, taht and the fact that the photos of the crewless aircraft showed the ejection seat still in place. This led to the conclusion that the accident was caused by an accidental firing of the manual seat seperation system.

Don’t think it was particularly long James. The reason for ejecting was a sudden rise in jet pipe temperature.

Nice pic Rob, how long did the Wyvern fly on for?

I guess another ‘unmanned’ classic was the Tintagel Hunter.

.. And this Wyvern VZ791, of which the pilot ejected after getting into difficulties. The aircraft carried on and landed itself in a field near Winchester. Pilot Lt J.P. Smith was unhurt.

and not forgetting the infamous Tintagel Hunter which flew back inland once the pilot had ejected with the aircraft pointing safely out to sea…

Remember this one

The strange accident of the MiG-23

04 July, 1989.
From the Soviet airbase near Kolobzreg at the seashore of the Baltic Sea in Poland a MiG-23 took off for a training flight. After the take off the pilot, Colonel Skurigin realised that the afterburner of his plane stopped and the power of the engine begun to fall. The altitude at this time was about 130-150 m and the pilot believed that the descending aircraft is unable to fly any longer. Without turning the engine off the pilot ejected and landed safely with his parachute. To the great astonishment of the ground crew the position of the plane fixed and it flew away to the West. The autopilot kept the last direction of the plane. The aircraft was not armed but the ammunition for the 23 mm machine gun was onboard. The phantom plane left the airspace of the former East Germany and violated the West German airspace where it was intercepted and escorted a pair of American F-15s. As the F-15s didn’t get permission to fire they let the aircraft flew away. France also alerted its Mirage fighters being in readiness with permission to fire if the phantom plane was dangerous for French built-up areas. Eventually it was unnecessary because after some 900 km the MiG-23 ran out of fuel and crashed in the area of Kortrijk city in Belgium ( NW of Belgium ). A house was ruined due to the crash and a 18 years old young man was buried under the ruins and died.

Or the misterious case of the Harrier some years back on a test flight that continued flying out to sea minus pilot and canopy but still containing the ejector seat. Was intercepted by a Nimrod and photographed after contact with pilot was lost.

Eventually crashed into sea and was too deep to recover. Never did find the pilot or find out how he left the aircraft or why?

Mark

EDIT:- Just found this elswere on another forum after a brief search that sort of conferms my post.:-

As I recall this was an early GR5 on a test flight from Dunsfold. As far as I remember the investigation concluded that the pilot had adjusted the height of the seat after take-off, and before commencing a timed climb. Unfortunately there was a loose item in the cockpit, assumed to have been a torch on a coiled lead, that fell under the back of the parachute firing mechanism (not the seat) As the pilot adjusted the seat, the object triggered parachute sear to fire. This fired the drogue chute through the canopy, pulling the main chute with it. Sadly the pilot was then bodily pulled from the seat through the canopy. He sustained fatal injuries. His body was later found on Salisbury Plain.

The aircraft flew on, pilotless, westward over the Atlantic. London Military managed to vector a USAF C5 close enough to the Harrier so they could video the aircraft. Must have been quite a sight, broken canopy but ejector seat still in place and no pilot.

The a/c flew on over the Ocean, endangering no-one. Finally it ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea.

I remember reading this in Air Clues (a RAF accident investigation magazine, I think that was the name). Poor guy.

During WW1 a RFC Fe2b (IIRC) flew with a dead crew for quite a while before crashing.Also a MkI Spit flew back to blighty with a deceased NZ pilot aboard.There are more stories out there……

Thanks for all your input chaps ,so it looks like it more than likely could or did happen.
maybe the records would play down this sort of thing ? .
It make you wonder if the spit pilots got a share of a kill ;)…..
Thanks everyone for your iteresting and prompt replys.

You only get kills for enemy aircraft – otherwise it would be too easy 😀

Or the misterious case of the Harrier some years back on a test flight that continued flying out to sea minus pilot and canopy but still containing the ejector seat. Was intercepted by a Nimrod and photographed after contact with pilot was lost.

Eventually crashed into sea and was too deep to recover. Never did find the pilot or find out how he left the aircraft or why?

Mark

EDIT:- Just found this elswere on another forum after a brief search that sort of conferms my post.:-

As I recall this was an early GR5 on a test flight from Dunsfold. As far as I remember the investigation concluded that the pilot had adjusted the height of the seat after take-off, and before commencing a timed climb. Unfortunately there was a loose item in the cockpit, assumed to have been a torch on a coiled lead, that fell under the back of the parachute firing mechanism (not the seat) As the pilot adjusted the seat, the object triggered parachute sear to fire. This fired the drogue chute through the canopy, pulling the main chute with it. Sadly the pilot was then bodily pulled from the seat through the canopy. He sustained fatal injuries. His body was later found on Salisbury Plain.

The aircraft flew on, pilotless, westward over the Atlantic. London Military managed to vector a USAF C5 close enough to the Harrier so they could video the aircraft. Must have been quite a sight, broken canopy but ejector seat still in place and no pilot.

The a/c flew on over the Ocean, endangering no-one. Finally it ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea.

Or the Dornier 17 down near Harwich with its crew jumping out over Wiltshire and the Stirling (shot down by Hurricane!) with crew jumping out over Norwich – only to crash in West Sussex having evidently overflown London.

Thanks for all your input chaps ,so it looks like it more than likely could or did happen.
maybe the records would play down this sort of thing ? .
It make you wonder if the spit pilots got a share of a kill ;)…..
Thanks everyone for your iteresting and prompt replys.

A B24 made it from the German border to Herefordshire with no pilot at the controls. Good write up here:
http://www.ewyaslacy.org.uk/St-Margarets/Bomber-Crash-at-St-Margaret-s-Common-Christmas-Day-1944/1944/gc_stm_2002