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| Date: | Friday 9 August 1974 |
| Time: | 14:08 |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2 |
| Owner/operator: | 41 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | XV493 |
| MSN: | 3420 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Fordham Fen, near Downham Market, Norfolk -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire (EGXC) |
| Return | |
| Investigating agency: | AIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The Phantom collided with a Piper Pawnee crop sprayer, G-ASVX, over Fordham Fen near Downham Market, Norfolk and crashed. Both Phantom crew - Pilot Group Captain David Robert Kidgell BLUCKE and Navigator Flight Lieutenant Terence Wesley KIRKLAND, and the Pawnee pilot Mr. Paul Kenneth HICKMOTT, (from New Zealand) were killed by the impact.
The Piper Pawnee had departed earlier on the 9th of August 1974, from Southend Airport to a disused airfield at Broomhill, near Downham Market in Norfolk. Broomhill was being used as a temporary base to refuel the Pawnee and to load pesticide. At about 14:04 the crop spraying aircraft had finished spraying a field 6.5 miles (10.5 km) south of Broomhill and was returning to replenish the pesticide hopper. The Phantom departed RAF Coningsby at 13:51 to fly a low-level navigation and reconnaissance flight at no lower than 250 feet (76 m) above ground level. The Phantom was following a standard low-flying route, and the Pawnee pilot was aware that military low-flying routes were in the area but the exact routing was classified and not released by the military. At about 14:08 and about one km. (1,100 yd) west of the village of Hilgay, at an estimated height of around 300 ft, the Phantom flying at a speed of about 420 knots (780 km/h), struck the Pawnee on its right side. The Pawnee disintegrated while the Phantom, on fire and shedding parts of its structure, continued on its heading for a further one kilometre (1,100 yards) before it hit the ground inverted.
The investigation determined :"The accident occurred because neither pilot saw the other aircraft in time to avoid a collision. The 'see and be seen' principle was inadequate for preventing collision in the circumstances that existed. A significant feature which contributed to the accident was the absence of any system for co-ordinating military and civil low flying activities in the low flying areas and link routes."
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. http://thephantomshrine.co.uk/Databases/f4-serials.txt
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20171019205516/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/F-4_Phantom_RAF.htm
3. http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/9-1975%20G-ASVX%20and%20XV493.pdf
4. http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1201160
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Norfolk_mid-air_collision
7. https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1974/1974
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Nov-2010 11:55 | ASN archive | Added |
| 16-Nov-2011 20:40 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 11-Apr-2013 13:59 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 24-Jun-2013 19:56 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, Source] |
| 28-Jul-2015 15:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 28-Jul-2015 15:40 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time] |
| 19-Dec-2023 17:45 | harro | Updated |
| 24-May-2024 06:45 | angels one five | Updated [Destination airport, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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