Thought that this thread had taken a distinctly morbid tangent, but the original question did state for “whatever reason” and the worst airshows surely have to be when an aircraft crashes and obviously even more so when someone loses their life.
I too have seen my fair share of accidents and incidents. My first memory is of a Tiger Club? turbulent in 197ooh very longtime ago, venue unsure though it may have been Gaydon or Colerne, it failed to pull out of a dive.
Yeovilton 1975 and the RAF Harrier display pilot was dismounting after his display, some how he triggered the ejection seat even though he wasnt in it and he and seat were suddenly 200′ in the air. We left soon after because I was a very upset 10 year old (Parents tell me I was physically sick after the Turb crash) and I never learnt the fate of the man – I only imagine it was fatal.
The USAF RF4C crash at the Brawdy show in 1987 was also a very memorable (for all the wrong reasons) event.
Pete Truman – you seem to have spent many shows “on the outside”. The T34C crash at Mildenhall in 29/5/83 was a civvy machine, being demonstrated as a possible RAF trainer JP replacement. The crash changed UK airshow rules as he was “filling in” for a few minutes at the request of ATC following his practiced sequence. He failed to recover from a very low stall turn, impacting on the South (non-public) side, hence the fire crew’s perhaps less than symapthetic handling of the bodies. From the public enclosure, the crash resulted “merely” in an upsurge of soil and dirt with no explosion, I feel most of the crowd didnt even notice it. If it had landed on the nearby stratotanker then things would have been much different. From then on non-practiced display sequences were banned and if a gap occurs in a display programme, then so be it.
Would the Wethersfield show you refer to be the 1988 event? If so , the Phantom display crew were the same ones who tragically lost their lives practicing for the Abingdon show in the September ( which I witnessed), causing the cancellation of the event. The week before at Finningley, many commented on the late recoveries from several manouveres, including the fatal loop.
Luckily for me I’ve missed the later fatal crashes, the last one I can recall would be the RR Spit at Woodford in ’92.
I hope it stays that way.
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