08/01/1991 |
XV462 |
G |
Phantom
FGR2 |
19
Sqn |
Entered
a roll while in a left hand descending turn from which the pilot could not
recover. Both crew ejected safely and it crashed into the Mediterranean
Sea twenty miles south of Limassol, Cyprus |
10/01/1991 |
ZB675 |
|
Gazelle
AH1 |
AAC
Gulf Det |
Crashed
into the desert in Saudi Arabia after the main rotor struck the ground
during an unauthorised display |
13/01/1991 |
ZD718 |
BH |
Tornado
GR1 |
14
Sqn |
During
a training flight the aircraft struck the desert 140 miles west of Masirah,
Oman after the pilot had attempted a steep turn while at very low level.
Both crew were killed |
16/01/1991 |
XW886 |
48 |
Gazelle
HT2 |
705
NAS |
Crashed into a field in the Goonhilly Exercise area, near Predannack, Cornwall after the pilot lost yaw control during a semi-wing-over manoeuvre when avoiding another Gazelle. He escaped from the wreckage but was seriously injured. Recovered by a Sea King and sent to the AIU at Lee-on-Solent by road. The aircraft had been flown into an undefined area of
the flight envelope known as the Fenestron Vortex. The Fenestron, a shaft driven 13 blade fan, replaces the conventional tail rotor.
This was the twelfth
accident to a British Forces Gazelle attributed to this effect. |
17/01/1991 |
ZD791 |
BG |
Tornado
GR1 |
14
Sqn |
A
SAM hit the right hand engine on the aircraft during a low
level ground attack mission about 50 miles from an Iraqi airfield. Both crew ejected but
were taken prisoner and later released |
17/01/1991 |
ZA392 |
EK |
Tornado
GR1 |
15
Sqn |
Flew
into the ground near Shaibah, Iraq probably after being hit by a SAM some
three minutes after completing a JP233 low level ground attack on the air
base there. Both crew were killed |
19/01/1991 |
ZA396 |
GE |
Tornado
GR1 |
20
Sqn |
Both
crew ejected after the aircraft was hit by a SAM while on a low level
ground attack mission on Tallil airfield, Iraq. They evaded capture for
three days before being taken prisoner. They were released at the end of
hostilities |
20/01/1991 |
ZD893 |
AG |
Tornado
GR1 |
9
Sqn |
Shortly after
take off from Tabuk, Saudi Arabia for a ground attack mission severely
restricted movement of the control column was encountered. External stores
were jettisoned and two approaches back at base were abandoned due to
difficulty maintaining directional control. Both crew were therefore
forced to eject |
22/01/1991 |
ZA467 |
FF |
Tornado
GR1 |
16
Sqn |
Flew
into the ground during an eight ship low level ground attack mission on Ar
Rutbah radar site, Iraq. Both crew were killed |
24/01/1991 |
ZA403 |
CO |
Tornado
GR1 |
17
Sqn |
A
1,000 lb bomb exploded immediately after release while on a mission over
Iraq. Both crew ejected and were taken prisoner. They were later released |
14/02/1991 |
ZD717 |
CD |
Tornado
GR1 |
17
Sqn |
Hit
by two Iraqi launched SAMs during a laser guided bombing mission on Al
Taqaddum airfield, Iraq. The pilot ejected, but the navigator was killed |
19/02/1991 |
XP909 |
|
Scout
AH1 |
658
Sqn |
The
aircraft ran out of fuel short of its base on the Yakama range,
Washington, USA. It struck the ground heavily at the bottom of a deep
canyon, bounced and came to rest 70 ft up the side of the canyon. Both
crew received major injuries |
18/03/1991 |
WJ877 |
BG |
Canberra
T4 |
100
Sqn/231 OCU |
Control
was lost during a simulated engine failure on take off from Wyton, Cambs. It
struck a road sweeper, destroyed a small garage and broke up. Wreckage was
spread over the A141 road. All three crew were killed. Caused by
mishandling of the aircraft by the pilot who was the station commander at
Wyton |
10/05/1991 |
ZD609 |
R-006 |
Sea
Harrier FRS1 |
801
NAS |
Suffered
a pitch control restriction probably caused by a foreign object while
acting as No 2 during a three aircraft low level loose tactical formation
flight. The pilot ejected at 100 ft and three seconds before impact. This
changed the centre of gravity of the aircraft and it climbed clear of the
ground. The No 3 aircraft who’s radio had failed joined up with the
pilotless aircraft thinking it to be the leader. He followed it through a
series of manoeuvre’s for two minutes until it crashed into Wentwood
Forest near Penhow, Chepstow, Gwent |
10/05/1991 |
ZA376 |
|
Tornado
GR1 |
20
Sqn |
During
a bounce manoeuvres with two other Tornados the pilot over banked while in
the decent and control was lost. At 200 ft the pilot felt that he was
regaining control but the navigator selected command ejection and exited
both of them from the aircraft. It crashed near Lubberstedt, Germany |
29/05/1991 |
ZG473 |
CA |
Harrier
GR7 |
4
Sqn |
Crashed
six miles south of Gutersloh, Germany after the pilot ejected at 2,000 ft.
Arcing had started a fire which caused an electrical failure while
inverted at 15,000 ft. Several similar but not so serious incidents with
GR7s caused the grounding of the type while wiring looms were altered |
01/06/1991 |
XZ577 |
138 |
Sea
King HAS5 |
826
NAS |
Control was
lost after striking the flightdeck nets during an unauthorised high speed
pass over RFA Fort Grange. It ditched into the Bay of Bengal off Coxs
Bazaar, Bangladesh ahead of the ship, sank and was not recovered. The three crew and four
passengers were rescued. It had been taking part in cyclone relief
operations in Bangladesh. The First Pilot had vacated his seat for a ships
officer and so was unable to supervise or take control. Both pilots were
Court Martialed |
24/06/1991 |
XW215 |
R |
Puma
HC1 |
230
Sqn |
Spiralled
into the English Channel and sank approximately thirty miles off Margate,
Kent and fifteen minutes after take off from Manston. Caused by failure of
the tail rotor control rod possibly as a result of sand contamination
following operations in the Gulf.. The crew were rescued safely. It was
recovered and sent to Yeovil for possible repair. However it later passed
on to Westlands at Weston-super-Mare where parts from it were used to
rebuild XW210. This aircraft was damaged when it over turned and caught
fire when the main rotors struck a hangar at Gallon Jug airstrip, Belize
on 21st May 1992 |
29/07/1991 |
ZD353 |
H |
Harrier
GR5 |
233
OCU |
The
pilot managed to return to Wittering, Cambridgeshire after suffering
an in-flight fire due to an electrical fault. It suffered severe
damage and was transferred to Brough pending a decision on a rebuild. It
was however deemed to be damaged beyond economical repair. Due to this and
other incidents concerning electrical faults on Harrier GR5/7s the entire
fleet were grounded on 30th July until 16th September |
08/08/1991 |
ZA941 |
|
Puma
HC1 |
RAE |
Entered
an uncontrollable turn to the left during a post maintenance flight and
crashed nose down into trees in a valley one mile south of Camp de
Canjeurs air base France. It burst into flames on impact killing two
ground engineers that were on board. The two pilots were severely injured.
The aircraft was detached to Camp de Canjeurs for anti tank weapon trials |
12/08/1991 |
XV438 |
T |
Phantom
FGR2 |
56
Sqn |
Both
aircraft landed back at Wattisham after XV473 had collided with XV438.
XV438 lost the top of its tail and with the withdrawal of the type it was
not repaired. It was allocated to the dump at Wattisham and was scrapped
during September 1992. XV473 was only slightly damaged and flew again. See
also 15th July 1992 |
12/08/1991 |
XV473 |
N |
Phantom
FGR2 |
56
Sqn |
29/08/1991 |
XX843 |
GT |
Jaguar
T2 |
54
Sqn |
The Jaguar collided
with the Cessna
over Carno, Powys at between 300 and 400 ft. The Jaguar crew
ejected, but the pilot was killed. The Cessna pilot was also killed. It
had taken off from Halfpenny Green on an aerial photography flight but was
operating in a military low flying area without authorisation |
29/08/1991 |
G-BMHI |
|
Cessna
152 |
Private |
10/09/1991 |
ZD631 |
266 |
Sea
King HAS6 |
814
NAS |
Suffered main gearbox failure due to loss of oil after take
off from HMS Invincible. It ditched into the Atlantic Ocean thirty four miles north west of Esha Ness, Shetland in heavy
seas and sank. The four crew were rescued. Recovered and allocated to ground instruction at Yeovilton as
A2621 |
12/09/1991 |
ZA540 |
JQ |
Tornado
GR1 |
27
Sqn |
The
crew ejected after loss of both fly by wire and manual controls. The
aircraft crashed into the Bristol Channel south of Steep Holm Island. Only
small pieces of wreckage were found. The probable cause being a fire at
the base of the fin started by a gas or hydraulic leak |
25/09/1991 |
XZ147 |
S |
Harrier
T4A |
233
OCU |
The pilot was struck in the face by a Black Headed Gull following a bird strike at 250ft near Great Driffield, North Humberside. The rear crew member was a female University Air Squadron cadet and she became the first woman to eject from a British aircraft when she followed the pilot out. Both crew were badly injured, the cadet landing in the burning wreckage of the aircraft. She was pulled clear by the pilot |
30/09/1991 |
ZD412 |
AH |
Harrier
GR5 |
3
Sqn |
This
was the first occasion that the squadron had operated with 1,000 lb bombs.
The pilot abandoned a conventional takeoff from Gutersloh, Germany after
mistakenly believing that the aircraft was not becoming airborne. He was
unable to stop before it engaged the barrier and he ejected. The aircraft
continued through the barrier and the perimeter fence and ended up in the
river Ems. Allocated to Brough as a test rig |
30/10/1991 |
XV421 |
FF |
Phantom
FGR2 |
1435
Flt |
Control
was lost during ACM with another Phantom over the Falklands. It
disappeared into cloud and was not seen again. A five day search recovered
only small amounts of wreckage in the
Atlantic north of McBrides Head, East Falkland. It was concluded
that the crew became disorientated while in cloud, neither ejected and both
were killed |
14/11/1991 |
XZ186 |
|
Lynx
AH1 |
655
Sqn |
Suffered
a bird strike while operating in Northern Ireland. It crashed during a
forced landing at Gorton, County Tyrone after the main rotor struck a
hillside. One soldier on board was killed and nine were injured |
16/11/1991 |
ZH210 |
|
Vigilant
T1 |
643
VGS |
Crashed
at Binbrook, Lincolnshire while attempting an emergency landing following
engine failure due to corrosion which caused fuel problems. The crew were
unhurt. Sent for repair but
these were not carried out and the aircraft was sold back to the
manufacturers at Grob. It became D-KSMU with a German gliding school. In
2002 the RAF ordered four additional Vigilants. Of these four D-KSMU
became ZJ960 and so returned to the RAF |