Classic British Flight Sim

In a bookshop I came across one story that intrigued me and decided to look up the full version on the internet.

It concerns the loss of a Lightning from RAF Binbrook in the Seventies and the mystery surrounding the American pilots' disappearance.

It is a few pages long, but one that I would recommend especially if UFOs' are also of interest to you.

http://www.crowdedskies.com/tony_dodd_foxtrot94.htm

Aha! So that's the original 'story'.

I've been told this one on a few occasions..

Thanks for the link.

KR
Dan.

Spooky stuff!

isnt that the one where they found the lightning in the north sea without the pilot but pit n canopy intact???

An alternative take on the story can be found at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/yorkslin ... tion.shtml

Somehow I find the language and tone of the UFO story to be a bit Buck Rogers meets John Wayne.

Apart from anything else, why would a non-Lightning spec ejector seat be fitted at a base which presumably would have access to the correct type of unit?

While we all know that American pilots are far greater experts than ours in all things aeronautical :roll: (apart from recognising friendly units in the Gulf area ) , what expertise was this guy meant to bring to the party?

Anyone for a discussion on the politics of Global Warming, while we're about it?

One interesting point regarding this incident and one which was not mentioned was the fact that the Lightning was passed over to the Americans and sent off to America, the reason given was that as it was an American pilot flying it at the time then they have the right to it to continue their investigations? :think:

Also and what I would like to know is because of the design of the lightning, how easy would it be to ditch this aircraft and survive?

Now that it is over thirty years ago since this occurred, what are the chances of the truth becoming known? Until that happens then it appears that this will still remain a complete mystery.

It's been a while since I served at Binbrook, and I only had a couple of jollies in the T-birds, but I'm pretty certain that I wasn't briefed on a ditching drill for the Lightning. Standard practice, IIRC, was to eject from a controlled attitude and altitude.

Given the high landing speed and huge air intake I would think that the chances of a successful ditching would have been pretty remote, so I can't see why a controller would even suggest trying one. I may be wrong, and perhaps someone with more experience on the type could can clear this up, but ditching a Lightning doesn't make much sense. The pilot was (and is) much more valuable than the aircraft and the MB seats worked well (plenty of Lightnings at RAF Dogger Bank without seats), so why try a risky manouvre that won't save the aircraft and may kill the pilot?

A good story, but without too much basis in reality it seems.

TTFN
Tony

Tony, from looking at the pictures on that BBC link, its clear that the ejector seat and cockpit canopy are still in place, and the aircraft is intact to such a degree that it must have hit the water relatively gently i.e. a controlled landing on water, rather than hurtling into it after being abandoned.

alemaobaiano wrote:It's been a while since I served at Binbrook, and I only had a couple of jollies in the T-birds, but I'm pretty certain that I wasn't briefed on a ditching drill for the Lightning. Standard practice, IIRC, was to eject from a controlled attitude and altitude.

Given the high landing speed and huge air intake I would think that the chances of a successful ditching would have been pretty remote, so I can't see why a controller would even suggest trying one. I may be wrong, and perhaps someone with more experience on the type could can clear this up, but ditching a Lightning doesn't make much sense. The pilot was (and is) much more valuable than the aircraft and the MB seats worked well (plenty of Lightnings at RAF Dogger Bank without seats), so why try a risky manouvre that won't save the aircraft and may kill the pilot?

A good story, but without too much basis in reality it seems.

As an ex Lightning Simulator instructor I agree...no question of ditching a Lightning...You would have to eject. Also the article suggests that the Radar chaps ordered him to ditch...Preposterous! This would never happen :huf:

It does look relatively intact Paul, but we don't know what attitude it had when it went in. I suspect, and it's only my opinion, that it went in at a relatively shallow angle. As I understand the article the pilot was descending and decelerating at night, without visual references, so the angle of entry would probably have been shallow. After impact the pilot unstrapped and got out manually, either because of a seat malfunction or simply because it was easier, and sadly wasn't seen again.

The son of the lost pilot accepts the interim accident report, and I tend to agree with him that it was simply a mistake that caused the accident. Strange things have happened in aviation, and will continue to happen, even if we can't explain them right away. Mysteries intrigue us all, until the explanation comes out. The pilotless Harrier anyone?

Thanks Peter, I thought you might know more about the Lightning than any of us.

TTFN
Tony