antarmike Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 An RAF Avro Vulcan B2, XM645, of 9 Sqn RAF Waddington breaks up over Zabbar, Malta, after a hard landing shears off the port-side undercarriage, piercing a wing fuel tank and starting a fire. The pilot and co-pilot initiate a second landing attempt but eject when they realize that the plane cannot make it back to the runway. The subsequent explosion kills 5 crew members who remained aboard, and an electrical cable severed by falling debris kills a bystander on the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarmike Posted October 18, 2008 Author Share Posted October 18, 2008 One of the very last photographs taken of Avro Vulcan B2 XM645 of No IX Squadron before touching down short at RAF Luqa and subsequent crash on 15 October 1975. 645 was transferred to the Akrotiri Wing in March 1974 and returned with IX Squadron to Waddington in January 1975. In common with several aircraft that served in the Akrotiri Wing, 645 has an interim paint scheme of white/camouflage gloss but with no white in the national markings. After touching down short, the left leg was torn off. Still under control, the captain elected to take off rather than continue with the landing. Whilst flying an emergency pattern, the aircraft blew up. The pilots ejected but the other five members of the crew (including two crew chiefs) were killed as was a woman civilian on the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarmike Posted October 18, 2008 Author Share Posted October 18, 2008 (edited) These two accounts disagree as to whether the two crew who survived ejected before or after the explosion. It is difficult to know which is right so I have posted both. The trouble with the Vulcan was not all the crew could eject and this was bad for morale, and often left the pilot with an agonising decision whether to stay with the plane and try to get the crew down safely, or to recognise he had no hope of this and to save himself. Edited October 18, 2008 by antarmike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest catweazle (Banned Member) Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Whot a decision to have to make:shake: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Bloody good post, Mike. Thanks for doing this stuff. MB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 There is reference to this incident here: http://www.neam.co.uk/wingate.html The unlucky pilot of XM610, which created a very deep smoking hole in 100m of wasteland between the village of Wingate and its primary school in January 1971, was also piloting the aircraft described here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarmike Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 Unlucky, I wouldn't get him to buy my lottery ticket! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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