Lightning crash

[Sl4yer]

It's looking all too much like the hydraulic leak followed by fire followed by tailplane jam scenario that has plagued the Lightning since forever. Tragic. RIP Dave Stock.

[henk hugo]

yea - atleast his seat worked.

[henk hugo]

last pass of BEX

[henk hugo]

photo taken Friday night durning the night display

[Sl4yer]

last pass of BEX

Quite heartbreaking, already well ablaze. Surprised he didn't have fire warnings well before that though, given the Lightning's often oversensitive warning system. It's only a matter of time until tailplane control is lost - many have made it back safely, some have escaped and some, tragically, have suffered the same fate as Dave Stock.

I hate to say it, but might this justify the CAA's refusal to permit Lightnings in the UK?

James

[Nigel H-J]

hate to say it, but might this justify the CAA's refusal to permit Lightnings in the UK?

I think the CAAs' refusal is roughly the same as with the Phantom, I remember watching a programme that featured Ray Hannas' son Paul was talking about the Phantom at Duxford saying it was a great shame that it cannot fly, when questioned he said that the CAA would not license it to fly as it was deemed too fast for British Airspace. That was some time ago, things may well have changed since then though.

Nigel.

[SkippyBing]

Somewhere on the Key Publishing forums there's a thread about the CAA letting Lightnings fly in UK airspace with some input from some of the current operators of the ground taxi examples. Basically it boiled down to a combination of the Frightnings poor safety record while in service and the complexity of maintaining it, I don't think the CAA have categorically said you can't operate one in the UK, more that meeting their requirements would make operating a Vulcan on a permit to fly look like a Sunday afternoon DIY project.

[Sl4yer]

Somewhere on the Key Publishing forums there's a thread about the CAA letting Lightnings fly in UK airspace with some input from some of the current operators of the ground taxi examples. Basically it boiled down to a combination of the Frightnings poor safety record while in service and the complexity of maintaining it, I don't think the CAA have categorically said you can't operate one in the UK, more that meeting their requirements would make operating a Vulcan on a permit to fly look like a Sunday afternoon DIY project.

That's true. One of the requirements for flying a 'complex' aircraft is manufacturer support, and that certainly wouldn't be forthcoming. I'm sure I've read of concerns about jet pipe breaches as well. I suppose until somebody got BAE on board and gave it a try, we'd never know...

James

[henk hugo]

http://www.caa.co.za/resource%20center/ ... ZU-BEX.pdf

the prelim crash report... makes for some sad reading

[Sl4yer]

the prelim crash report... makes for some sad reading

Indeed. Makes TC sound rather sloppy actually. Of course, there's only one way to test the seat. But it should at least be serviced properly. I can't understand why there were no fire warnings, on a system renowned for it's oversensitivity. I suppose fuel leaks aren't uncommon on the Lightning, as with many ex-mil aircraft, but the inference is that there was a connection between the leak and the flame-outs, and probably the fire...

We'll most probably never know the complete picture, but I hope this doesn't lead to the grounding these wonderful machines. Not before I've won the lottery anyway.

Thanks for posting!

James