Operation CHIKARA
Huntingdon, England
4-? May 1977
Huntingdon, England
4-? May 1977
At 1213 hrs on 3rd May 1977, a photo-reconnaissance Canberra aircraft of No 39 Squadron RAF was returning to its base at RAF Wyton, near Huntingdon, after a routine training flight from Scotland. This aircraft had been engaged on a routine training exercise to be followed, on return to its base at Wyton, by a practice overshoot on asymmetric power. This particular manoeuvre involves approaching the runway with one of the two engines throttled back, but still running, and is designed to simulate the handling and safe recovery to base of the Canberra aircraft after failure of one engine. The manoeuvre itself is not in any way dangerous but, as with many aircraft manoeuvres, it requires the proper technique to be used. The pilot had been instructed in this technique and was in practice.
On this occasion, the pilot started the manoeuvre normally. He approached the runway at Wyton with a right-hand turn from a height of about 1,000 feet, descending to about 600 feet and with the right-hand engine throttled back. It was expected that at the point where the aircraft would have ended its turn into line with the runway, its wings would have been levelled. This did not happen, but instead the aircraft's angle of bank to the right increased, leading rapidly into a downward spiral. About two miles from the end of the runway, it crashed into a row of terraced houses in Norfolk Road on the estate of Oxmoor in the village of Hartford, north-east of Huntingdon.
Three young children trapped in their homes were killed and five people were injured, of whom two were detained in hospital. The two RAF members of the crew were also killed. Firefighting crews fron the nearby airfield were on the scene within 5 minutes along with crews from Huntingdon and other local firestations and found eight homes totally destroyed. Police had to form a cordon to hold back hundreds of sightseers.
The investigation revealed no evidence of pre-impact damage or technical malfunction in the aircraft; nor from the evidence could any cause be established with absolute certainty. But it was concluded that the most probable cause was that the crash resulted from the pilot's misjudgment in starting his overshoot without first levelling the wings. This, combined with too much power on the left engine, led to a loss of directional control; there was insufficient height available in which to recover.
On this occasion, the pilot started the manoeuvre normally. He approached the runway at Wyton with a right-hand turn from a height of about 1,000 feet, descending to about 600 feet and with the right-hand engine throttled back. It was expected that at the point where the aircraft would have ended its turn into line with the runway, its wings would have been levelled. This did not happen, but instead the aircraft's angle of bank to the right increased, leading rapidly into a downward spiral. About two miles from the end of the runway, it crashed into a row of terraced houses in Norfolk Road on the estate of Oxmoor in the village of Hartford, north-east of Huntingdon.
Three young children trapped in their homes were killed and five people were injured, of whom two were detained in hospital. The two RAF members of the crew were also killed. Firefighting crews fron the nearby airfield were on the scene within 5 minutes along with crews from Huntingdon and other local firestations and found eight homes totally destroyed. Police had to form a cordon to hold back hundreds of sightseers.
The investigation revealed no evidence of pre-impact damage or technical malfunction in the aircraft; nor from the evidence could any cause be established with absolute certainty. But it was concluded that the most probable cause was that the crash resulted from the pilot's misjudgment in starting his overshoot without first levelling the wings. This, combined with too much power on the left engine, led to a loss of directional control; there was insufficient height available in which to recover.
References:
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1977/nov/21/canberra-aircraft-accident
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fut-fcfHTwIC&pg=PA161&lpg=PA161&dq=huntingdon+crashed+RAF+1977&source=bl&ots=LJpjTrnUZB&sig=a7MaSNq8FxiwIbG5HnSPK2MSPnI&hl=en&ei=hWJkS-W8E4T40wTM2fDOBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=12&ved=0CCQQ6AEwCw#v=onepage&q=huntingdon%20crashed%20RAF%201977&f=false
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1977/nov/21/canberra-aircraft-accident
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fut-fcfHTwIC&pg=PA161&lpg=PA161&dq=huntingdon+crashed+RAF+1977&source=bl&ots=LJpjTrnUZB&sig=a7MaSNq8FxiwIbG5HnSPK2MSPnI&hl=en&ei=hWJkS-W8E4T40wTM2fDOBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=12&ved=0CCQQ6AEwCw#v=onepage&q=huntingdon%20crashed%20RAF%201977&f=false