Two aviation crashes occurred on June 2–3, 2001, during the annual Biggin Hill Airshow, at London Biggin Hill Airport in Bromley, England. An aircraft landing incident and two separate fatal aircraft crashes occurred during the weekend show. A de Havilland Venom suffered minor damage to its fuselage when it landed with its landing gear retracted. Six hours later, a de Havilland DH-115 Vampire was attempting a wingover, when the aircraft lost control and dived into the ground, destroying the Vampire and killing pilots Kenneth Hayr and Jonathan Kerr. A Bell P-63 Kingcobra crashed the following day after attempting a maneuver with insufficient speed, destroying the aircraft and killing pilot Guy Bancroft-Wilson.
After the conclusion of the airshow, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch opened three investigations into the events of June 2–3 for the Venom, Vampire and Kingcobra respectively. Their findings on how wake turbulence affects aircraft during air displays and how communication issues could be improved between performing aircraft and air traffic control were published in their individual reports. The residents of Biggin Hill agreed that the weekend had been a terrible tragedy and were divided over whether the airshow should continue. Despite the concern, the airshow continued to run annually until 2011, at which time it was replaced by an open house air day.
Background Biggin Hill Airshow The Biggin Hill Airshow, then known simply as the Air Fair, was established in 1963 by World War II Royal Air Force pilot Jock Maitland. These displays took place at Biggin Hill Airport annually for the public to view, with the 25th anniversary held in 1987, by which time the air show had become renowned for having high standards for entertainment and well regarded commentators. Early Air Fairs included air displays with the T-28D Trojan in 1978 and the English Electric Lightning in 1980.
de Havilland DH-115 Vampire Aircraft The DH115 Vampire T11 used in the June 2 display was originally built in 1955 by de Havilland Aircraft Company Ltd and entered the Royal Air Force in 1956 under the registration of XH308. It remained in service until 1962, after which the aircraft was put into storage, sold to the Swiss Air Force and was then upgraded to Mk 55. The Vampire operated as U-1234 through 1991, finally being returned to the United Kingdom in 1995.
Crew Piloting the Vampire was Sir Kenneth Hayr (66), a New Zealand born former fighter pilot and retired air marshal in the Royal Air Force. He had been a Cadet Warrant Officer in the No 3 (City of Auckland) Squadron, Air Training Corps. He eventually went on to join the Royal Air Force in the 1950s, rising to senior rank and later serving as the Inspector of RAF Flight Safety in 1976. Hayr was responsible for overseeing the RAF's role in the re-capture of the Falkland Islands. On the day of the display Hayr, with a total of 4,398 flying hours (185 of those with the Vampire), would be pilot-in-command, sitting in the left seat of the Vampire. Accompanying him was Jonathan Kerr (33), a safety pilot who had been allocated to the Vampire by the Civil Aviation Authority due to the circumstances following the incident with the Venom that morning.
Bell P-63 Kingcobra Aircraft The Bell P-63 Kingcobra used in the display of June 3 was assembled in 1944, at the end of the Second World War. The aircraft was stationed with the United States Air Force under serial number 42-69097. It was built to conventional standard as a single seat aircraft. After completing its service in the US Air Force, the Kingcobra was sold under new civil registration N52113 in 1947, beginning its career as an air racer craft. It remained as a racer for the next four decades, changing hands multiple times but keeping the same registration (N52113), before finally being sold to Patina Ltd in Jersey with civil registration G-BTWR in 1991. At this time the Kingcobra was completely rebuilt, with a new zero-timed liquid-cooled Allison V1710-117 piston engine located behind the pilot, gearbox and propeller.
Crew Red Arrows pilot and British Airways captain Guy Bancroft-Wilson (43) was flying the Kingcobra on the day of its display, having begun flight training whilst serving. Bancroft-Wilson finished a three year tour as part of the Red Arrows, flying Hawk aircraft, continuing to fly professionally thereafter. Despite only having 13 hours of flying experience with the Kingcobra, Bancroft-Wilson had accumulated 7,730 hours of flying time overall. He also held a display authorisation for a Cat C aircraft (the Kingcobra being of this category). This requires the pilot perform a minimum of three display sequence practices in an aircraft of the same category, not preceding 90 days before the day of the public display. Bancroft-Wilson had flown 30 minutes of dual instruction in a Texan Harvard, 25 minutes of display exercise in the Kingcobra two days before the airshow display and the display itself on June 2. These were not recorded in his pilot logbook however, instead being recorded as completed by Patina Ltd.
June 2: Venom incident and Vampire crash
Venom incident Aircraft problems and belly landing On the morning of 2 June 2001, a de Havilland Sea Vixen, a de Havilland Vampire and a de Havilland Venom were scheduled to fly in formation from Bournemouth to take part in an airshow at Biggin Hill Airport. The Venom, being a single-seater aircraft, was flown by company chief pilot Clive Rustin. Rustin had over 200 hours of flying experience with the Venom, however this was only his second flight in eight years and with the aircraft to date. On the previous day, Rustin had noted that there was an issue with the landing gear indicator. The Vampire and Sea Vixen landed without issue at Biggin Hill. However, the Venom had issues with its landing gear indicator showing the flap as being over the one-third setting, despite being set to one-third during the pre-landing checks. Rustin corrected the flap setting. Entering final approach, he lowered the flap to full and maintained an even spacing between the Vampire and Sea Vixen, avoiding their slipstreams, as the gap had decreased to an unsafe amount. Certain the landing gear was all the way down and calling 'finals three greens' to the tower, despite the questionable indicator, Rustin landed the Venom in what he believed was a normal landing. The Venom had in fact completed a smooth touchdown on its belly, with Air Traffic Control reporting the landing gear had not been down. This was further proven by the nose vibration experienced in the latter stages of the landing run. Whilst Rustin was uninjured, the aircraft experienced crushed drop tanks and a scratched fuselage on its underside. This damage resulted in it being unable to perform any displays at the airshow.
Subsequent observations and aftermath Clive Rustin later pinpointed three contributing factors to his failure to lower the landing gear. These included the width between the landing gear and the flaps being close together and of a similar design, leading him to believe he had lowered the flap and not the landing gear, despite the reverse being true. This led to him failing to associate the excess flap with an unlowered landing gear. This was not helped by the landing gear indicator not reporting correctly. Secondly, the location of the indicator in the cockpit and the intensity of the lights made the position of the landing gear difficult to discern. Finally, Rustin reckoned he was distracted by the concentration required to perform a landing in close proximity to the other aircraft.
After the incident with the Venom, runway 03 at Biggin Hill was closed for approximately three hours in preparation for the air displays taking place later that day. The Vampire's pilot-in-command Sir Kenneth Hayr assisted with the aftermath of the incident with the Venom and was in attendance at the airshow briefing. Due to the Venom being unable to partake in any displays after the damage it had taken from the landing, the Vampire and Sea Vixen would pair up for a short sequence display followed by shorter solo displays later that day. The airshow instead opened with a helicopter display from the Blue Eagles which could perform without needing the full runway. This performance included the UK's first female military display pilot Sergeant Julie Wiles. This performance was followed by many other displays and flybys, including the Red Arrows which flew in from another airport. The Civil Aviation Authority assigned safety pilot Jonathan Kerr to the Vampire due to the events of the morning and potential visibility issues involving the aircraft's cockpit.
Vampire crash Vampire and Sea Vixen air display plan Pilots Hayr and Kerr discussed plans for the display that would now take place without the Venom. The Vampire and Sea Vixen would take off separately several minutes before the planned display time, joining up as a formation pair behind the crowd. They would then run-in along runway 03, in front of the crowd, with the Vampire following in right echelon formation. During a level turn to the left, the Vampire would switch to the line astern position. They would proceed outbound from the crowd with a 345° heading. Upon reaching the end of the display line, the Sea Vixen would perform a wingover to the right, reversing direction and returning along the display axis. The Vampire would then mimic this but with a delayed initiation, with the aim to set of spacing from the Sea Vixen, allowing the latter to exit behind the crowd and leave the airspace clear for itself to begin performing solo. The Vampire would then depart for RAF Lyneham, where it would perform a final display.
The planned display maneuvers went ahead; however, the Vampire took off thirty seconds after the Sea Vixen due to a transient issue involving its landing gear. The weather at their departure time gave a northerly surface wind reading of 14 knots, visibility to with cloud scattered at 3,000 feet, a temp of with an air pressure of 1,016 mb. Both Hayr and Kerr had flown in a similar air display sequence one week prior at Duxford; however, that display included the Venom.
Vampire crash and immediate aftermath The Vampire and Sea Vixen joined as a pair as planned, flying past the crowd and carrying out their 405° level turn. The Sea Vixen subsequently performed its wingover to the right at a speed of at the apex, subsequently increasing thrust and pulling 2.5 g into the turn. The Vampire then flew to the left astern position, flying a wider radius followed by a right wingover to achieve the planned 1 km of spacing between both aircraft. As the Vampire reached 80° to enter its wingover, it continued to roll to the right, suddenly becoming inverted with the nose dropping down into a steepening descent. The Vampire almost simultaneously rolled upright, raised its nose and increased its angle of attack. Still rolling to the right, the Vampire crashed into woods by the end of runway 21, with a cloud of fire rising into the sky seconds after. These events were reportedly witnessed by 35,000 people in the airshow's crowd. Neither Sir Kenneth Hayr nor Jonathan Kerr survived.
The Sea Vixen cut its display short and dumped its remaining fuel before landing back on runway 03 without issue. Several recordings of the display were taken by camera from members of the crowd. Most of these however, focused solely on the Sea Vixen rather than the Vampire at the time of the latters right wingover. Footage from the last moments of the accident were only available on one recording. This recording would be further analysed in the subsequent investigation.
June 3: Kingcobra crash
Kingcobra crash Warbird trio and initial loss of control