Swift crash at Shoreham

[Spitfire]

Look at these for a series of AMAZING photographs

One VERY lucky bloke ............

This is the moment when a stunt glider slammed into a runway in front of 15,000 horrified fans at an airshow.
Amazingly pilot Mike Newman, 35, crawled out of the wreckage of the high performance Swift S-1 aircraft after the cockpit broke up on impact.
The former racing driver suffered three broken vertebrae in the accident, but doctors expect him to make a full recovery.

Mr Newman crashed while performing for the Swift Aerobatic Display Team at the Royal Air Forces Association airshow at Shoreham, West Sussex.
Amateur photographer Rob Yuill, 62, of Hornchurch, Essex, who took the amazing sequence of pictures, said: 'He had a very lucky escape indeed.'
'The glider was supposed to perform an aerobatic display with two powered aircraft - but it was a very overcast day with low cloud.'
'The gilder only performed for a couple of minutes before being released from its tow line. Then it flew downwind and turned to make its final approach to land.'
'As he turned, I realised the glider was at the wrong angle as its nose went down. He had lost air speed and headed straight into the ground.'
'It was not far off vertical when it hit the runway. The nose section just crumpled. It was an awful thing to see.'
'There was an silence from the crowd as people took in what had happened around 400 ft in front of them.'
'I felt a real sense of relief when the pilot crawled away. I had feared the worst because it was such an awful crash.'
'Two ambulances and a couple of fire engines were on the scene very quickly and he was taken away on a stretcher.'
Mr Newman who was the UK unlimited aerobatic gliding champion in 2008 and 2009 was taken to Worthing Hospital after the accident, which took place on August 23.

He has since been transferred to a hospital closer to his home in Egham, Surrey, and is said to be "'on the mend'.
Mr Newman, an operations manager for an automatic door manufacturer, is having to lie on his back for the next three weeks to help his spine heal naturally.
Swift Aerobatic Display team spokesman Guy Westgate said: 'Mike is in good spirits and the whole team wish him a speedy recovery.'
Mr Newman, a gliding instructor and aerobatic coach, has been flying since 1996.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch and the British Gliding Association have begun an investigation into the crash.
Air show organiser Don Bean said: 'We are very sorry about the pilot being hurt - but it is fortunate the accident was not much more serious.'

[Thumper]

I remember posting about that on a separate thread and was waiting to hear updates to see how the pilot was.

Thanks for posting that, very grim photo's but pleased he is relatively OK and making a recovery. Lady Luck was definately looking after him that day

[Spitfire]

I remember posting about that on a separate thread and was waiting to hear updates to see how the pilot was.

Thanks for posting that, very grim photo's but pleased he is relatively OK and making a recovery. Lady Luck was definately looking after him that day

Yes it was part of the 'Very Sad Weekend' thread - but I thought its a bit of better news that he's ok so put it in a separate thread - suppose its a bit sad for G-IZII though

[Xplumberlives]

So, gliders have CRUMPLE ZONES!

[Spitfire]

So, gliders have CRUMPLE ZONES!

Yes - and WHAT must he have been thinking in this pic Apart from 'OUCH that hurt'

[Xplumberlives]

OR possibly,

What am I going to tell the owner?

[RLN]

Or,

Is fear supposed to run down your leg?

Glad he's OK.

[Mayfly]

So, gliders have CRUMPLE ZONES!

I have those!!!

[Xplumberlives]

Or,

Is fear supposed to run down your leg?

Glad he's OK.

WRONG!

Adrenalin is brown and sticky and is most often behind you!

wrote:
So, gliders have CRUMPLE ZONES!

I have those!!!


NO, you have TABs



Twin Air Bags!

[Thumper]

Youtube video of the crash. Terrible conditions to be flying a glider.



Swift team page has an update. He's still in hospital but recovering well.

http://www.swiftteam.airshows.org.uk/news/2010/09/shoreham-glider-incident-update-3/

[Xplumberlives]

Youtube video of the crash. Terrible conditions to be flying a glider.

AIRCREW ERROR!

[Mayfly]

Did his tow release early [for whatever reason] he didn't look very high?

[Mags]

There's something strange about that.......he appeared to have the airbrakes out on downwind despite being very low. Wonder if he intended to land downwind and then changed his mind, turned and stalled? I also noticed on the first few pics that the brakes were still out at the point of impact. Anybody know if it was particularly gusty that day. The weak link could have gone if it was turbulent but I wouldn't have thought they would even try if the conditions were that bad. Or - maybe he released himself. It looks like the horizon was pretty poor with the visibility. I once did an aerotow in poor vis and it was very diffcult keeping on station vertically behind the tug.

[Xplumberlives]

Perhaps it was PRESSONITIS!

[Stevieboy]

From what I remember (getting old now) the wind was pretty much down the runway and fairly strong. He'd been carrying out rolls on the tow, in to wind, and it all seemed to be getting a bit ropey and he was catching up with the tug with the tow going very slack. It appeared to me that he released the line himself as things appeared to be going pear shapped, and he had very little forward momentum at the time (by now he was at the southern end of the runway). He imediately turned downwind and I thought that he was going to land downwind and at this time his groundspeed appeared to quite high due to the wind. I lost the glider behind the tents and then the comentator cried out something allong the lines of No you don't want to do that. I assumed that he'd turned back and it looks like that's what happened with the inevitable result.

That's what I though I saw but you know how it can be with eyewitnesses.

There's something strange about that.......he appeared to have the airbrakes out on downwind despite being very low. Wonder if he intended to land downwind and then changed his mind, turned and stalled? I also noticed on the first few pics that the brakes were still out at the point of impact. Anybody know if it was particularly gusty that day. The weak link could have gone if it was turbulent but I wouldn't have thought they would even try if the conditions were that bad. Or - maybe he released himself. It looks like the horizon was pretty poor with the visibility. I once did an aerotow in poor vis and it was very diffcult keeping on station vertically behind the tug.

[Mags]

Suggests he WAS having trouble keeping station with the tug. The last few maneouvers looked a bit indecisive Maybe he should have turned in early - wouldn't have needed much space to land in a strong wind. Hohum - all very well looking at it and making comments eh - I better shut up

[Jigsaw]

Suggests he WAS having trouble keeping station with the tug. The last few maneouvers looked a bit indecisive Maybe he should have turned in early - wouldn't have needed much space to land in a strong wind. Hohum - all very well looking at it and making comments eh - I better shut up

Impossible.....your a woman

You do have some authority on the subject though

Glad he is on the mend.

[Thumper]

It was VERY windy at Shoreham both days of the airshow.

Having lived in Shoreham for 10 years, flew from Shoreham myself and always gone to the airshow, I can tell you that being between the Downs and at almost sea level the airport can experience very difficult flying conditions with the wind. There's also a bloody great big bank with the railway line ontop of it right at the end of the runway which is rather scary.

2 years ago a Hercules had extreme difficulty landing in a cross wind and that's a BIG plane so I can only imagine how tricky it was for the pilot trying to put that Glider down.

Perhaps he knew things were going wrong and wouldn't get better so rather than risk the safety of people on the ground he decided to ditch when he did which was over the runway at a low height.

[Mags]

It'll no doubt become clear what went wrong in due course. A blessing that the pilot is recovering

And Jiggy I'm a very non talkative woman

[Jigsaw]

It'll no doubt become clear what went wrong in due course. A blessing that the pilot is recovering

And Jiggy I'm a very non talkative woman

My favourite kind

[Milek]

I have got some pictures about this crash. Unfortunately my position was in too long distance from a crash place.

[Jigsaw]

Thanks for posting those Milek. The second to last shot shows how horrific it must have been.