WIX Archives

Re: Black 6

Posted by Luciano on Wed Mar 20, 2002 05:17:26 PM

In reply top Re: Black 6 posted by david J burke on Wed Mar 20, 2002 03:50:03 PM

Very Emotive subject:

There was no finite period that she could only be kept airworthy as such. This period was arbitrarily defined, by a few ill informed bumbling old desk jockeys in the upper echelons of the RAF and MOD.

She could be still be flying today, if the likes of Charlie Brown or Dave Southwood had been reserved to fly her only, rather than putting her at the whim and disposal of a high ranking serving top brass airforce officer with an ego to feed. The crash was completly avoidable and unnecessary ref AAIB report. I'm surprised that the RAF didn't court martial him and pin a Gross Negligence charge upon him as they normally do to dead Chinook pilots.

If he hadn't completely cocked it up and wasn't riddled with guilt, do you really think that he would have resisted attempts by the rescue crews to extricate him from a aircraft with notoriously fatal inverted arrival characteristics? He was after all sitting inverted on top of a bladder of avgas, now on top of him! at the time in a fuselage crumpled badly at the cockpit location. Batteries couldn't have been that far away either. Pretty stupid really, especially if it had gone up unexpectedly. The extra unnecessary risk to the fire crews might also be considered.

Never mind accidents happen. Forgive and forget, praise though? I don't think so in this instance.

Anyone know if Russ Snadden ever sneaked in a few circuits?

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