Avro Vulcan - Accidents and Incidents

Accidents and Incidents

• On 1 October 1956, Vulcan B.1 XA897, the first Vulcan to be delivered to the RAF, crashed at London Heathrow Airport at the conclusion of Operation Tasman Flight, a flag-waving trip to Australia and New Zealand. After a GCA approach in bad weather, the aircraft struck the ground 700 yd (640 m) short of the runway just as engine power was applied. The impact probably broke the drag links on the main undercarriage, allowing the undercarriage to be forced backwards and damage the trailing edge of the wing. After the initial impact, the aircraft rose back in the air. The pilot, Squadron Leader D. R. Howard, and co-pilot Air Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst, AOC-in-C Bomber Command, both ejected. The aircraft then hit the ground and broke up. Howard and Broadhurst survived but the other four occupants which included a spare pilot and an Avro representative were killed.

• In 1957, a Vulcan B.1 XA892 attached to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at Boscombe Down for acceptance testing was unintentionally flown to an Indicated Mach Number (IMN) above 1.04, alarming the crew that it had reached supersonic speed. The aircraft commander, Flt Lt Milt Cottee (RAAF) and co-pilot Flt Lt Ray Bray (RAF) were tasked to fly at 478 mph (769 km/h) and 0.98 IMN, to take the aircraft to a load factor of 3 g. The Vulcan was climbed to 35,000 ft (11,000 m) and then dived with the intention of reaching the target speed at 27,000 ft (8,200 m). Approaching the target altitude, the crew closed the throttles and were applying full up-elevator, the aircraft continued to pitch nose-down. Flt Lt Cottee contemplated pushing forward to go inverted and then rolling upright; instead, he opened the speed brakes even though the airspeed was above their maximum operating speed. The speed brakes were not damaged and succeeded in reducing the Mach number. The aircraft came back past the vertical at about 18,000 ft (5,500 m) and regained level flight at 8,000 ft (2,400 m). There was no report of a sonic boom in the vicinity; as such, it is unlikely a true Mach Number of 1.0 was reached. (At Mach 1.0, the Vulcan had position error of about 0.07.) After the flight a rear bulkhead was found to be deformed.

• On 20 September 1958, a Rolls-Royce test pilot was authorised to fly VX770 on an engine performance sortie with a fly past at RAF Syerston Battle of Britain At Home display. The Vulcan flew along the main runway then started a roll to starboard and climbed slightly. During this roll the starboard wing disintegrated, resulting in a collapse of the main spar and wing structure. The Vulcan went into a dive with the starboard wing on fire and struck the ground. Three occupants of a controllers' caravan were killed by debris, all four of the Vulcan crew were also killed. The cause may have been pilot error; analysis of amateur cine film suggested the aircraft had flown over the airfield at 472–483 miles per hour (760–777 km/h) instead of the briefed 288–345 miles per hour (463–555 km/h); it had also descended to a height of 65–70 ft (20–21 m) instead of 200–300 ft (61–91 m). Rolling the Vulcan to starboard while flying at this speed imposed a load or stress of 2-3 g; it should have remained below 1.25 g. The VX770 was a prototype with construction and materials not to production standard, which was the primary reason for imposing low flight performance limits.

• On 24 October 1958, Vulcan B.1 XA908 of No. 83 Squadron crashed into the residential neighborhood of Grosse Pointe Park on the East side of Detroit, Michigan, USA after a complete electrical systems failure. The failure occurred at around 30,000 ft (9,100 m) and the backup system should have provided 20 minutes of emergency power to allow the aircraft to divert to Kellogg Airfield, at Battle Creek, Michigan, or one of several airports in the Detroit area. Due to a short circuit in the service busbar, backup power only lasted three minutes before expiring and locking the aircraft controls. XA908 then went into a dive of between 60-70° before it crashed, leaving a 40-ft (13 m) crater in the ground, which was later excavated to 70 ft (21 m) deep in an unsuccessful attempt to find the cockpit of the aircraft. All six crew members were killed, including the co-pilot, who had ejected. The co-pilot's ejector seat was found in Lake St Clair, but his body was not recovered until the following spring. Although property damage was extensive, there were no ground fatalities and only one person on the ground required hospitalization. The six bodies were buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Trenton, Michigan; alongside the bodies of 11 RAF student pilots killed during the Second World War in training accidents at nearby Naval Air Station Grosse Ile.

• On 24 July 1959, Vulcan B.1 XA891 crashed due to an electrical failure during an engine test. The aircraft commander was Avro Chief Test Pilot Jimmy Harrison. Shortly after take-off the crew observed generator warning lights and loss of busbar voltage. The aircraft commander climbed XA891 to 14,000 ft (4,300 m) and steered a course away from the airfield and populated areas while the AEO attempted to solve the problem. When it became clear that control of the aircraft would not be regained the aircraft commander instructed the crew in the rear compartment to exit the aircraft, and the co-pilot to eject. The aircraft commander then also ejected. All the crew survived, making them the first complete crew to escape successfully from a Vulcan. The aircraft crashed near Kingston upon Hull.

• On 16 September 1960, Vulcan B.2 XH557 wrecked the appropriately named "Runway Garage" at Filton. XH557 had been allocated to Bristol Siddeley Engines to test the Olympus 301 engine and was being delivered to Filton. Approaching in poor weather conditions, the aircraft touched down halfway along the runway. The braking parachute was streamed but realising the aircraft would not stop in time, the captain opened the throttles to go round. A street light on the A38 was struck as the aircraft climbed away, leaving a scene of chaos behind it. The Runway Garage took the full force of the jet blast: four petrol pumps were blown flat; a street light lay across the road; railings were blown over; and cars had their windscreens shattered. The aircraft diverted to St. Mawgan and was flown back to Filton some days later.

• On 12 December 1963, Vulcan B.1A XH477 of No. 50 Squadron crashed in Scotland during an exercise at low level (not less than 1,000 ft (300 m) above ground.) XH477 had struck the ground while climbing slightly, and it was assumed it crashed due to poor visibility.

• On 11 May 1964, Vulcan B.2 XH535 crashed during a low speed demonstration. The test pilot was demonstrating a very low speed and high rate of descent when the aircraft began to spin. The landing parachute was deployed and the spin stopped briefly, but the aircraft then began to spin again. At around 2,500 ft (760 m) the aircraft commander instructed the crew to abandon the aircraft. The aircraft commander and co-pilot ejected successfully but none of the crew in the rear compartment did so, presumably due to the g forces in the spin.

• On 16 July 1964, Vulcan B.1A XA909 crashed in Anglesey after a midair explosion caused both No. 3 and No. 4 engines to be shut down. The explosion was caused by failure of a bearing in No. 4 engine. The starboard wing was extensively damaged, the pilot had insufficient aileron power, and both airspeed indications were highly inaccurate. The whole crew successfully abandoned XA909 and were found within a few minutes and rescued.

• On 7 October 1964, Vulcan B.2 XM601 crashed during overshoot from an asymmetric power practice approach at Coningsby. The copilot had executed the asymmetric power approach with two engines producing thrust and two at idle. He was being checked by the Squadron Commander, who was unfamiliar with the aircraft. When he commenced the overshoot the copilot moved all the throttles to full power. The engines that had been producing power reached full power more quickly than the engines at idle and the resultant asymmetric thrust exceeded the available rudder authority, causing the aircraft to spin and crash. All the crew perished.

• On 25 May 1965, Vulcan B.2 XM576 crash-landed at Scampton, causing it be written off within a year of delivery.

• On 11 February 1966, Vulcan B.2 XH536 of the Cottesmore Wing crashed in the Brecon Beacons during a low level exercise. The aircraft struck the ground at 1,910 ft (580 m) near the summit of Fan Bwlch Chwyth 1,978 ft (603 m), 20 mi (32 km) northeast of Swansea. All crew members died. Hilltops at the time were snow-covered and cloud extended down to 1,400 ft (430 m).

• On 6 April 1967, Vulcan B.2 XL385 burnt out on the runway at RAF Scampton at the beginning of its take-off run. The aircraft was carrying a Blue Steel missile training round. All the crew, including an Air Training Corps cadet, escaped unhurt. The aircraft was engulfed in flames and totally destroyed. The accident was caused by failure of an Olympus 301 HP turbine disc as the engine reached full power.

• On 30 January 1968, Vulcan B.2 XM604 crashed following a loss of control during an overshoot at RAF Cottesmore. The rear crew members were killed though both pilots ejected. The captain ejected at a very late stage and only survived because his deploying parachute was snagged by some power cables. The accident was caused by failure of an Olympus 301 LP turbine disc after the aircraft had returned to the airfield following indications of a bomb-bay overheat.

• On 7 January 1971, Vulcan B.2 XM610 of No.44 Squadron crashed after fatigue failure of a blade in the No. 1 engine that damaged the fuel system and led to an engine fire. The crew abandoned the aircraft safely, and the aircraft crashed harmlessly in Wingate.

• On 14 October 1975, Vulcan B.2 XM645 of No.9 Squadron lost its left undercarriage and damaged the airframe when it undershot the runway at RAF Luqa in Malta. After a runway had been covered with fire prevention foam, the aircraft was turning inbound for a landing when it broke up over the village of Żabbar. The pilot and co-pilot escaped, using their ejection seats, but the other five crew members were killed. Large pieces of the aircraft fell on the village. One woman (Vincenza Zammit), was hit by an electric cable and killed. Some 20 others were injured.

• On 17 January 1977, Vulcan B.2 XM600 of No. 101 Squadron crashed in open country near the town of Spilsby in Lincolnshire. The Vulcan was returning to Waddington, carrying out a practice emergency descent which included the deployment of the Ram air turbine (RAT). During the descent, the bomb bay fire warning light flashed on followed by No.2 engine fire warning light. The captain shut the engine down and the AEO reported flames coming from the area of No.2 engine, four ft behind the RAT. Because the fire was getting worse, the captain ordered the aircraft to be abandoned. The three rear crew members escaped out of the entrance door by 6,000 ft (1,800 m). After ordering the co-pilot to eject, the captain ejected at around 3,000 ft (910 m), as control was lost. The cause of the accident was due to arcing on the electrical terminals of the RAT, burning a hole in an adjacent fuel pipe and setting the fuel on fire.

• On 12 August 1978, Vulcan B.2 XL390 of No. 617 Squadron crashed during an air display at Naval Air Station Glenview, Illinois in the United States. The crew had been authorised to carry out a display at Chicago Lakeside airport but the captain elected to carry out an unauthorised display at Glenview before departing for Lakeside. After a low-level run, probably below 100 ft (30 m), the aircraft was pulled up for a teardrop turn which was not properly executed and the aircraft crashed killing all on board.