2000 losses

24/02/2000 ZB666   Gazelle AH1 9 Regt The pilot lost visual reference while in the hover at night on Mt Kenya, Kenya. The helicopter struck a tree and crashed, slightly injuring the crew
21/03/2000 XZ662   Lynx AH7 655 Sqn Badly damaged in a heavy landing near Mullaghbawn, Northern Ireland when it bounced and rolled onto its side. The occupants escaped safely. For repair assessment but was not repaired. In 2002 it was sold to a company at Staverton to make a simulator
08/04/2000 PV202 RQ-5 Spitfire T9 Private During the final approach following a successful overshoot at Goodwood, West Sussex the aircraft clipped a tree on the airfield boundary. Control was lost and it struck a bank, skidded across Goodwood race circuit, came to rest inverted approximately 60 yards from the runway and caught fire. Both occupants were killed
17/04/2000 XZ207   Lynx AH7 1 Regt Suffered tail rotor drive shaft failure while in the hover at 10 foot at Boxberg, Germany. Pilot attempted to land the aircraft but it began to spin and a skid dug into the ground. It struck the ground heavily but the occupants escaped safely. For repair assessment then was allocated to Ground Instruction at Arborfield
19/04/2000 XW207   Puma HC1 33 Sqn Crashed in the Catterick Training are at Hipswell Moor, Yorkshire after the tail hit the ground during a nose high approach. The fourteen on board managed to escape without serious injury. The slow response of the engine on Pumas to throttle position selection was considered to be a major contribution to the crash. See also XW221 19/07/2004
31/05/2000 XX745 GV Jaguar GR1A 54 Sqn Suffered a mid air collision during a sortie over Scotland and both diverted into Leuchars, Fife. XX832 suffered only slight damage but XX745 received severe damage to the underside of the cockpit area. It was returned to Coltishall by road where damage was assessed as CAT 4. Transferred to St. Athan where the feasibility of using the cockpit from stored XZ375 was examined. This was considered too costly and the aircraft was deemed damaged beyond economical repair. During 2001 it was stored at Shawbury, then to Boscombe Down for spares
31/05/2000 XX832 EZ Jaguar T2 6 Sqn
26/07/2000 ZE695 718 Sea Harrier F/A2 899 NAS The nose wheel tyre burst when the aircraft touched down in the undershoot area at Yeovilton, Somerset at the end of a delivery flight from Dunsfold to 899 NAS. The aircraft slewed off the runway onto the grass causing the nose wheel to collapse. It continued to slide across the grass and caught fire at which point the pilot ejected. It came to rest at the edge of the  847 NAS dispersal and suffered CAT 4 damage. With the announcement that the Sea Harrier fleet was to be withdrawn it was withdrawn from use earlier than expected it was declared CAT 5 and departed St. Athan on 24th September 2002 for scrapping. Later to a private collector at Sproughton, Suffolk
24/08/2000 ZH654   Harrier T10 DERA Crashed onto the runway at Boscombe Down after the engine cut while on final approach. Both the crew ejected although one suffered severe arm injuries. The wreckage was stored at Boscombe Down during 2001
24/09/2000 XW281 G-BYNZ Scout AH1 Private Crashed at Upper Chute near Andover, Hampshire. The wreckage was taken back to its base at Thruxton
16/10/2000 XM378 G-BWZE 34 Jet Provost T3A Private Abandoned take off shortly after getting airborne from Lelystad, Netherlands after suffering engine problems. The undercarriage collapsed and the cockpit area suffered damage
18/10/2000 XX282 CQ Hawk T1A 100 Sqn Crashed into an area known as East Kyloe Woods, between Haggerston and Lowick in Northumberland after suffering a bird strike. Both crew ejected safely suffering minor injuries
27/10/2000 ZH844   Merlin HM1 700M NAS Ditched into the sea off the Isle of Skye between the village of Plockton in Western Ross and the weapons range on the island of Rona. Caused by a possible partial uncommanded application of the main rotor brake or by it not being fully released by the crew. Smoke was seen by an eyewitness coming from the rotor head but the crew were not alerted until fire broke out.  As bad weather was forecast the crew deliberately deflated the flotation bags to sink the aircraft. This was done to save it being smashed by the weather. However, due to severe undercurrents it was smashed on the rocks on the sea bed. The five crew were rescued from the sea by boat. ZH844 together with ZH843 were detached to Plockton Airfield to operate in the Inner Sound range. They had only recently been delivered to 700M NAS at Culdrose and ZH844 had only about 20 hours total flying time. It was recovered after approximately two weeks submerged and the small pieces of wreckage were transported to Yeovilton for investigation
27/10/2000 XZ111 GO Jaguar GR1A 54 Sqn Crashed five miles north-east of Dumfries, on open hillside between the town and Lockerbie after the pilot ejected following a bird strike. The aircraft was flying with another Jaguar which circled the crash site until a rescue helicopter arrived to pick up the pilot who was not seriously injured
16/11/2000 ZD992 VL-724 Harrier T8 899 NAS Both crew ejected during a take off run using the ski ramp at Yeovilton, Somerset after what appears to have been a catastrophic engine failure. The aircraft crashed in flames onto the airfield suffering severe damage to the cockpit section and starboard wing area. Both crew were injured and needed hospital treatment. The wreckage was moved into the accident investigation hangar at Yeovilton. It was not repaired and went into store at St. Athan

© Wolverhampton Aviation Group