Lightning down at Overberg

[garethbrum]

A thread on PPRUNE states that a Lightning has crashed on take-off at the airshow in SA.

Gareth

[GOOSE]

Noooooooooooo


wrote a note in my diary just now, it simply said "oh fudge!"

Please excuse the profanity on this occasion.

[Gary]

Now there saying on pprune the pilot was killed

[GOOSE]

A little bit here.

http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/article ... x?id=26339

[garethbrum]

A little bit here.

http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/article ... x?id=26339

Goose

I edited my initial title to reflect the conflicting reports.

Not looking good.

Gareth

[GOOSE]

Slightly different version here -

http://www.news24.com/Content/SouthAfri ... t_air_show

[viper3111]

Tis' a sad day either way

[GOOSE]

TIMESLIVE REPORT

AN ex-military fighter jet has crashed killing the pilot at an air show in the Western Cape.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The English Electric Lightning aircraft exploded after crashing near the Overberg Air Force Base in Bredasdorp. The aircraft was operated by Thunder City in Cape Town, which offers thrill seekers trips in ex military jets.

Thunder City CEO Mike Beachy Head said the the pilot reported having hydraulic failure and was preparing to eject shortly before crashing.

One spectator who didn't want to be named said he watched as the aircraft spiraled towards the ground then disappear in the bushes. "A second or two later I saw a big black smoke mushroom," said the man.

Anzelle Smit, spokesman for Metro EMS in the Western Cape said after almost two hours of searching the pilot's body was found. "He was found outside of the plane not too far from the air force base," said Smit.

Link here - http://www.timeslive.co.za/news/local/article194296.ece

Awful day.

[HighlandSniper]

Very sad.

[GOOSE]

More here. Warning - the site link reveals the Pilot's details. If you find that distasteful don't click.

Link posted purely for info, not in grotesque fascination.

http://www.avcom.co.za/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=54999

[The Phantom]

Very tragic news. Two sad losses. RIP Dave Stock.

[Blackcat1]

Tragic news.

RIP

[GOOSE]

Ongoing news update.

http://www.news24.com/Content/SouthAfri ... ilot_named

[GOOSE]

And a tiny bit different but nothing dramatically new.

http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/wanderer/2 ... n-airshow/

[JG71]

320psi has just informed me via text.An awful business.

May i ask in an Administrative role that no one starts the old arm chair expert theories please at this time.Thankyou

Jim Maher JG71

[gonk]

Bad bad news R I P.

[GOOSE]

From South African News 24.

“Hydraulic malfunction. I’m bailing out. Ejection seat malfunction.”

These were the last words heard by a former air force pilot before his fighter plane crashed on Saturday at the Bredasdorp air show.

Dave Stock, 46, from Hermanus, died in the accident. Rescuers found remains of his clothing about 10km from the Overberg air force base.

Stock was an experienced pilot who had completed close to 16 000 flying hours and had taken part in more than 100 air shows.

Stock was performing a display flight in a Lightning jet from Thunder City in Cape Town – one of only four in the world – when it crashed.

Investigation pending

Colonel Marius van der Heever, commander of the Overberg air force base, said the Civil Aviation Authority would investigate the accident.

“Right up until the end, Dave had communication with the tower and he was fully conscious when he crashed.”

“There were also indications that he could not eject successfully,” said Van der Heever.

Stock was well-known in flying circles.

Set a record

In 2005, he set the South African speed and height record at the Ysterplaat air show by climbing up to 9 000m in the Lightning in only 1min 43sec.

British magnate Sir Richard Branson chose Stock as his pilot when he wanted to break Stock’s record in June 2006.

It was part of the launch for Virgin Mobile in the country. They missed the record with two seconds.

[beefsteak]

Very very sad news indeed

RIP Dave.

[TankBuster]

Very sad & shocking news. RIP.

Also found this link containing a bit of info. Aircraft was T5 ZU-BEX .

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=70066" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TankBuster

[john]

Hi
Very very sad news what a sad day my heart goes out to his friends and family RIP.


John..