Harrier Crash - Chievres, Belgium Airshow 06/28/86
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- This is the first time this crash has been viewed in 38 Years. That's how old the VHS tape is. I had only been stationed there a couple of week when it happened. The pilot who was killed had blown both of his main tires on landing at the base. He was actually performing the show in his wing man's plane.
I was there and saw it from the other end of the public line, near where the aircraft was parked prior to its display. First time I see a video of this. From that angle it is not apparent but the ejection seat travelled some good distance horizontally (200-300 m maybe) parallel to the crowd line - more or less towards this camera. I could feel the thump through the ground when the aircraft hit. This also touched me personally because I was right next to the aircraft and watched the pilot getting into and setting up his cockpit. He was smiling and joyful and I thought this guy has the best job in the world... and a few minutes later it was all over. I have been thinking about this event ever since.
Hope you’re living your best life, realising it can all go in an instant
@@KernitTheFont "Living your best life"? This is an idiotic phrase that is too often uttered.
@johndd8186 Thanks for your positive contribution, John.
@@johndd8186 Can we add "underrated" to the list?
@@johndd8186 I too am living my best life after having experienced my worst life before. I certainly prefer my best life to the previous worst life I was living. This is way better. Alot better. Carry on. The best is yet to come! 🎉❤
Harriers have reaction control nozzles on the wingtips, the tail, and under the nose. They blow high pressure air up or down to control the aircraft when it's hovering. The RCS (reaction control system) nozzles are linked to the control surfaces. For example, right aileron UP would open the RCS nozzle on the upper right wingtip to push the right wing DOWN. If you push the left rudder pedal, the left nozzle on the tail would open to yaw the nose to the left. And if you pull back on the stick, the top nozzle on the tail would open to push the tail down.
Pulling back on the stick tilts the horizontal stabilizer up. In forward flight, that would push the tail down and the nose up. But in this case, the plane was flying backwards, so it had the opposite effect. The RCS nozzle on the tail was trying to push the tail down, but it couldn't overpower the giant horizontal stabilizer that was pushing the tail up due to airflow over the backwards-flying tail. The harder the pilot pulled back on the stick, the more lifting pressure the horizontal stabilizer put on the tail. That lifted the tail, pushed down the nose, and caused the crash.
expertly explained - Thanks!
Your comment is the most underrated one here.
That's a great explanation, thank you. So pulling back in this case, in backward flight exacerbated the problem. I guess too much nose down, much more than intended would only be recoverable by forward thrust to get airflow over the elevator...but obviously absolutely no height to achieve it, so out he pops. I'm guessing was deemed pilot error...and back to flying air cadets around in Chipmunks! hehe
@@andrewp3456The pilot was killed unfortunately.
@andrewp3456 pilot didn't make it, unfortunately.
Thank you for this film. I was the crew chief at this display and was on the far side of the airfield when this occurred, working on the other Harrier and did not see the accident. We had heard the hover portion of the display, the pop of the seat and silence. Looking across the airfield, the aircraft was on its back with no sign of a parachute. The pilot "wex" Weatherley was tragically lost.
stop bragging about yourself
@@AwesomeAngryBiker - Seek medical attention IMMEDIATELY ....... and while you're having treatment, LEARN T F@@@ING READ!!!
@@AwesomeAngryBikerBizarre comment…
@@KevinMeedsyeh, he's also made an equally stupid comment in another reply further down. He obviously is angry about something, hence his name I guess
I am not bragging, I was told what happened and read the investigation reports. This is the first time I have seen the film and it pieces together what actually happened. Once again, thank you for submitting the film.
On the same Day before this crash, the pilot performed the same demo at Kleine Brogel airbase in Belgium, which I was attending as a spectator.
In the evening news on Tv, I then heard of this unfortunate event.
May he rest in peace.
Me too, i saw the "nod" right before me, but wasn't it the same day? I think it were two parallel airshows, with the same planes performing the same day at both shows.
I'm from Belgium, go to airshows often and i didn't know this happened. I feel a bit sorry about my ignorance since the pilot died. Glad i now know his story, thanks!
The Harrier is an incredibly difficult aircraft to fly and only the finest pilots are ( no disrespect to any pilot) are chosen to fly after a rigorous training program both in the classroom and inside the aircraft itself, it's like those rubik cube people who can solve it.... in seconds flat... dexterity is the keyword along with perseverance, patience and being placid and more!!
Such a tragic accident. The over compensated pitch down to arrest the excessive rearward velocity, followed by a late ejection left him outside the envelope of both seat and aircraft. Frame analysis appears to show that the seat flipped forward 180 degrees, leaving him inverted and too close to the ground for the parachute to deploy. Just awful. RIP Brian.
I think the plane pitched forward as the pilot took his hands off the controls and began his ejection routine.
J'étais au meeting, triste pour le pilote 😢 Merci pour ce partage
Il a pas survécu ?
@@plane3613 malheureusement pas ...
@@plane3613 Vu comment le siège percute l'avion malheureusement non.
1 seconde plus tôt et c'était bon.
Je trouve toujours stupide d'imposer à un pilote des manoeuvres aussi délicates juste pour les beaux yeux du public. Combien de pilotes sont déjà morts au cours de tel meetings aériens ? La réponse est simple : beaucoup trop.
Im born in town near to Chièvre , the first air show when i see it was in the 90' at the same airbase, Sad vidéo but thank you for sharing that.
I was at Gutersloh when this happened and knew the pilot, Brian Weatherley, well. No indications of aircraft faults were found. Flying backwards was little-researched and practised and the likely cause was unexpectedly exceeding the safe parameters. RIP
Sorry for your loss.
If you think about it, if the aircraft is tipped too far forwards and the jet nozzles aren’t staying vertical, it’ll tip the aircraft even more. I’m not sure what the air crash investigation findings were so not saying that this was the cause.
@@user-xh3wr1do7k No, I don´t Think so. You are right, if the aircraft ist tilled that much, the jet nozzles are not able to produce lift. However, the would´t increase any tilt forces in forward direction. The reason for this uncontrolled tilt seems to me coming from the backwards flight, were the horizontal stabiliser in combination with some height loss. Ambient air pushes the stabiliser that hard, were the control jets cannot override it. To stop backward flying, the pilot HAS to lower the nose of the aircraft to stop. I am not a specialist of the harrier, possibly one could have turned the main lift nozzles a bit to forward instead of tilting the aircraft. That I don´t know. Nevertheless, it´s to late for the pilot.
One summer in the UK (I think it was in 1984) I attended an air show. The three things that I remember as if it was yesterday were standing inside a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, watching (and hearing) an Avro Vulcan in low level flight and of course, watching a Harrier GR.3 flying backwards.
@diegoferreiro9478 I've also seen a Harrier at a show. Once you've seen a high-performance jet approach at speed, stop in mid-air, spin around like a top, turn left and right while bowing to the crowd, and then fly backwards before flying off again at high speed, you've seen pretty much everything worth seeing😊. This tragic accident was, like all airshow fatal accidents, a horrible event, and a risk all show pilots take. Hats off to all of them for risking everything to entertain us.
It’s very sad that this man lost his life. It seems to me airshow flying must be one of the most risky modes of flight. Pushing aircraft to their limits whilst at very low altitude must leave very little room to recover from any errors or malfunctions. I’ve watched the Harrier perform at many air shows and it’s always been a thrill to see.
As we sometimes say, there is no such thing as a minor accident at low level
I worked as a maintenance enlisted ( but later became an officer and pilot) in Every US Marine Squadron that originally got The A version Harrier. I personally witnessed 7 crashes. Most were fatal. And I saw an accidental on the ground ejection. Of the original USMC buy of about 110 Harriers, most were lost in crashes and mishaps. Many pilots lost their lives. However, its legacy lives on in the F35b.
I love flying! Ex-USAF, current recreational pilot (I currently fly an antique amphibian, my 4th airplane), always looked to the sky when I heard an airplane (even a helicopter!). And this is why I don't frequent airshows.
Sadly this tragic accident and loss happened on the very day I arrived at RAF Gütersloh to join 18 Sqn Chinooks as their SEngO! Gütersoh was holding a Family’s Day event on the sports field across the road from the Main Gate that day and I think I was in the company of my opposite numbers on 3 Sqn and 4 Sqn around the time this all unfolded. RIP Brian Weatherley.
I was at Laarbruch on Tornado's back then. Jerry Pook wrote a book "RAF Harrier Falklands" tbh he was pretty scathing about how difficult the Harrier was to fly
The Royal Thai Navy bought Sea Harriers for their aircraft carrier the 'Chakri Narubet. They came from Spain. I saw them circling around with wheels down practicing almost daily however I don't believe a single aircraft ever landed on that carrier! Noisy for sure!
As a helicopter pilot, hovering and flying backwards is something we know well and especially how tricky and hyper sensitive it can be to maintain the proper attitude. I wonder if fast jet pilots did get a solid hovering training before being set to fly VTOLS like the Harrier, as otherwise I’d figure that being used to fly at great speeds and fixed wings, finding yourself quickly dealing with a hovering translation can be a pretty delicate situation. RIP and Respect to the pilot.
I guess for a VTOL aircraft with aerodynamic surfaces is even more different story because you might get aerodynamic instability + control reversal.
@ right, that’s a very good point indeed. This video led me to other Harrier accidents I didn’t know about. Had no idea so many crashes happened!
@@somesimo5122 They aren't all down to things related to hovering or the nozzles though. End of the day, the Harrier is still a single engine fast jet that typically operated at very low level for much of its service life, especially the RAF. The first generation Harriers didn't glide very well either, so the likes of bird strikes (the massive front intakes didn't help with that), fuel starvation, etc, were much more likely to result in a crash compared to twin engine Phantoms, Jaguars or Tornados.
The RAF pilots had to pass a RAF helicopter course I believe.
I am always amazed by how fast fighter pilots can realize that it's time to eject. I mean, you have to release the stick and pull the leaver. I can't have a reaction that fast even if I hit my tiny toe in the door frame.
Loved watching this plane back in the day. This pilot was brilliant but I think he sent it too hard in reverse. Harrier doesn't like pitching too much whilst going backwards so fast. RIP.
It looks like the pilot had absolutely no chance at the moment he activated the ejection seat due to the aircraft's situation.
We had a few of these horrible accidents in the 1980's. So sad.
MFG2 Tornado crash in germany
Je m'en souviens très bien.
J'étais présent à Chievres ce jour tragique.
Rip au pilote .
Very sad after a great display, shocking for the people who came to see the show for it to end like this. RIP to the pilot.
It was a great airshow till this moment. This Lieutenant was the star
R.I.P 😢
Salut,
Je n'avais jamais vu ce crash, merci pour là vidéo 👍
This footage was taken by a spectator at the air show. The Investigation team used my VCR to make copies of other spectators' footage as well. There were videos filmed in NTSC as well as PAL and the only VCR in the Base Ops break room that the investigators used would play and record both types. I went to the BX on base and bought the same model VCR since I was planning to do so anyhow in a day or so and offered it to them to make their copies. I asked for a copy and this the only one I got.
I remember reading about a fighter aircraft with faults causing the aircraft to be completely uncontrollable under certain parameters, one case in particular a pilot low flying over farmland lost control and ejected, the farmer witnessed the crash and on his way to the crash site discovered the pilot still in his chair in a hole in the ground where he'd ejected while the plane was out of control and upside down. The jet preceded the tornado but i don't remember what it was called.
OMG 😞 When I saw the video, I thought the pilot had escaped because he had ejected. But I see in the comments that he died. Tragic. A small consolation: he died doing what he loved... For those who remember, in 1986, I was on the Bierset base, which was still a military base at the time, the day which were presented the F16s, which were still the YF16s, that the Belgian air army had just bought.
Wow, could have been much worse had it gone into the stands. I was at the El Toro airshow in ‘88 when the F-18 crashed l haven’t been to one since and l absolutely love airplanes.
I was there that day. If I remember correctly, planes were not allowed to fly over the crowd.
It was stunning. no AI, no modern computers, just single engine, the guys wh0 created this were geniuses! KUDOS! PS. And the Pilot, KUDOS!
GR.3 XW769 No. 4 Squadron Flight Lieutenant B. D. Weatherley RAF
Wondering if a modern Martin Baker ejection seat could work at such a extreme angle these days ?
Today he could have been saved, yes. Modern seats can manage as well low altitude, overhead attitudes.
Yes, modern seats can recognise their attitude and adjust the trajectory so they achieve a vertical climb.
One hell of an aircraft able to operate from a clearing in a forest the size of a tenis Court.
Far out!.. we have a GR-3 Harrier in a museum here in NZ ✈️🇳🇿
Pilot lost his life, sadly...because the ejection seat was facing downward by the time he pulled the chord..there simply wasn't enough height for the chute to deploy...
Lamentable
Seems like he hit the vertical stabilizer. Ejections in these conditions are allways very iffy.
I thought (and expected) that the engine had ingested a bird but that was not the case. Tragic.
Apparently there’s 28 months in a year in Belgium!
Having a 'limit' to how long you can hover is a real big red flag. We need valkyies with wingtip vernier thrusters
In my native village, a few years earlier, an F104 Starfighter crashed into a house (the residents were out that day). We talked quite well about the accidents suffered by the F104s at the time...
I was there too, ....
Right in front of the plane when it "greeted" the public.
A horrible thing to happen, and the first time I've seen it.
I knew a chap in the RAF Jim Downey, he crashed and
managed to eject safely twice from Harriers. Then he
died in a mid air collision with another Harrier.
Em 1973 eu acompanhei a decolagem de uma esquadrila
deste avião, em um show aéreo, decolando da minha frente e bem de perto, foi coisa de louco.
At one point at 2:46 , a red flash is seen on the back of the fuselage. Is that a flash or flames from the engine?
Terrible to see the plane crash an pilot die. RIP to the Pilot Flt.Lt.B.D.Weatherley
Sad for the pilot !
Unfortunately there were many fatal harrier crashes at the time. I remember one in Saudi Arabia about 1980.
Damn that pilot ejected right into the canopy… not good
Never seen this before, amazing footage and very said ending. Looks like ejection was dead on the vertical and the seat hit the fuselage between the wings or maybe more of the right wing leading edge. I would imagine the Ejection seat was much more basic than modern seats and had a very limited envelope to work with.
No, it was the very best ejection system of the time and one that has led to continuous development ever since.
Awesome job of turning the camera away 🙄 could have been used by investigators, news etc
He knew instantly it wasn't coming back didn't he.......could he have reasonably pulled the handle any quicker ?? I don't think so.......very sad. RIP.
Was it just the pilot lost here ? no ground casualties ?
my dad was at this show
Even the best of pilots could have difficulty flying those. With no computer controlled FCS during hover, that thing could go south before the pilot even knew it was going on.
Coolest maneuver I ever saw! Until it went south, that is.
I think he made a mistake when trying to perform the bow maneuver that he does with the Harrier toward the audience. I saw that maneuver at FIDAE in Chile, but the plane was stationary in the air, not moving like in this video.
The plane seemed to move in an unreliable manner from the start of the video. He the pilot must have sensed that the uncontrolled movements might lead to undesired consequences and stopped that show early on.
The engine on the harrier is under immense stress while in hover and unfortunately not very forgiving when it stalls. RIP
Kids on home computers can fly better than many real-life pilots..:)
Thanks for posting. I've never seen this footage. I am guessing a malfunction of the airflow ducts or system that bleeds air from the engine into small vents in the wingtips, tail and nose that allows the plane to move during the hover. Looks like the harrier crashed on it's back sadly.
Auto stabilisation system turned off to allow pilot to do a nose down manoeuvre , unfortunately he went to far and the hover manoeuvring ducts become useless in this situation and will not right the aircraft. 4 Squadron Harrier based at Gutersloh , Pilot ejected but outside of operational parameters and was sadly killed!
mr show off know it all expert
@@AwesomeAngryBiker - Quick question ....... why are you such a cant???
@@AwesomeAngryBiker grow up!
@ I was an engineer on the squadron and answering a question asked . If it offends you I apologise!
Air shows are always a bit dangerous with pilots sometimes going too far or aircraft experimental. Sadly he ejected the wrong direction.
🙏..R.i.p .
je m'en rappelle parfaitement je repartait avec mes parents quant il et tombé j'en suis encore choquer
Somethig i feel unbalaced in that plane , somethig is wrong with that computer or sensors .
I would speculate the cause was flying backwards at too high a speed. The aircraft is designed to fly forward like a dart. The tail fins keep it pointing forward. This pilot had it going backwards so fast that when he pitched forward, nose down to use the downward thrust vector to arrest his rearward velocity, the relative wind likely lifted the tail up with sufficient force to overpower the attitude control puffer jets and over it went so that the “dart” would go nose first. That put all the thrust vector horizontal and then skyward. Quickly there was nothing opposing gravity and down it went. Sadly, the attitude at ejection appears to have not allowed enough altitude for his chute to open sufficiently to slow his descent and he hit the ground too hard. 😢. If he had held the aircraft level and slightly vectored the thrust nozzles rearward, that might have worked in slowing the rearward velocity. It was just dangerous to run that aircraft backwards to that high of a negative airspeed. My first thought when seeing this for the first time was, “Oh my, that’s too fast in reverse!” But I didn’t know what would happen.
Apparently, the pilot didn’t realize that would happen or he surely wouldn’t have done it. Or, there might have been a malfunction where the thrust vector was stuck fully forward, propelling him backward against his wishes. If that was the case, he needed to eject immediately. If intentional, he was probably the first “test pilot” to try it. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize this or he would have been trying it up at 10,000 feet. Or maybe he didn’t realize his rearward airspeed was so high.
Whats vector mean pal 🍻
www.ukserials.com/pdflosses/maas_19860628_xw769.pdf
Means the thrust is directional from control inputs.
Everyone in the comments taking this moment to talk about themselves
…
1986 was full of disasters. Chernobyl, Challenger, Chievres. See the pattern?
Looks like he lost control of it...
Все авиакатастрофы начинаются со слов - "Смотри, как я умею"....
I go shopping there every month.
Most bizarre comment 😂
I sometimes think more planes have been lost at airshows than in all wars combined, because the pilots push planes beyond their envelopes in order to put on a "good show".
In this case it looked like the plane tipped too far forward during the "bow to crowd" because it was still moving backwards and the airflow pushed the tail up too much.
My wife every time she tries to drive in reverse😢
What poor taste!
Slt j'y étais avec mon cousin et mon oncle...triste
😮😮😮😮😮в хвост выстрелил и погиб, видимо....😢
When you're crap at reverse parking
It looks as if he ejected into the top of the Harrier fuselage or stabiliser as it was becoming inverted.
I whas there its at 20 km from my home
2:46
The pilot had no chance of survival! He ejected and hit the fuselage with the rockets still working!
Spadochron przy wyrzucie zachaczyl o skrzydla
didnt know the harrier could fly backwards.
Yes, but not very fast, exceed 30 knots and you will be in trouble.
@@BrianMorrisonYes, I think the tail fins (horizontal stabilators) will “weathervane” it in pitch to try to make it fly forward. That’s what they’re supposed to do. I think that’s exactly what we see happen. Looks like the pilot pitched forward with the puffer jets so that thrust could slow the rearward motion and the reverse airflow caught the stabilators and they flipped it over with force exceeding the puffer jets’ force to raise the nose. And then it was done. But the pilot couldn’t recognize this and eject fast enough.
He probably should have used the thrust vector control to change the thrust vector slightly rearward and held the attitude flat.
It didn't look good for the pilot !! He/she hit the wing during the ejection !
FL LT B D Weatherley died as a result of the crash.
Is it known the reason of the crash? Pilot error or pitch control failure?
@@thunderchief2004 It seems like he underestimated strenght of wind...
It looks like the aircraft landed pretty much on top of him too.....
@@septiccalling8341 I was there and saw it from a different angle. He ejected 200-300 m in the direction of the camera, so from that angle it looks like he stayed close to the aircraft or hit it but that was not the case.
Pilot error : He was doing two manoeuvres at once. Flying backwards and bowing by dipping the nose, causing over rotation. No chance of recovery when that happened. Lack of caution.
What caused it ?
Бесподобно
AV8B
Wex hit the plane while ejecting?
There’s a reason why the harrier was called ‘The flying coffin’.
No, that was the Lockheed Starfighter.
There is a much better reason for the Harrier never been called that.
@@iconicshrubbery Indeed, Flying Coffin or Widow Maker in Germany, 292 out of 916 F-104 were lost and 115 pilots killed.
@@normanboyes4983 It did earn that reputation in the USMC with the AV-8A. To put it in bullet points, initially USMC Harrier pilots were cream of the crop and the earlies years were quite safe. Lulled into a sense of false security, the training standards were lowered somewhat which was followed by a spate of fatal accidents. So yes, the AV-8A was dubbed the widow maker for a time.
I take it you mean 28/6/1986. This is not America.
Wow. Glad you clarified that.
This platform IS America. Get over yourself.
@redfalco21 the platform maybe, but last time I looked Belgium wasn't in America. If this platform IS America then that explains everything.
@@redfalco21 yes, unless Google is as it always is fiercely working to avoid taxation by claiming they exist in other domains.
No, this is the internet. So whoever posts can post as they like.
Sidewards ejection: ruclips.net/video/H9SRAz69aew/видео.html
vertical take off: check
transition to horizontal flying: check
vertical landing: ...
Жуть
Nice useless VTOL planes.
Fuel Starvation? They use almost 100 liters per minute.
Un pirata menos .
Seguro que ese estuvo en la guerra de las Malvinas.....
Da ist ein Mensch ums Leben gekommen. Und Sie machen dumme Witze. Sie sind offensichtlich ein übles Dreckschwein.
idiot
He hovered for too long, it will overheat the engine ductwork and cause it to crash
Dans la vie il vaut mieux aller de l’avant …
Shit camera work, films the ground at the most important point.
Probably in shock at what they had just witnessed or hit by the crowd rushing to see what had just happened.
There is always the option not to comment.
This is a video from the 80's. The camera only points down after the Harrier has gone behind the buildings and cannot be seen anymore.
What a comment,ffs
Maybe in the 80's they had more respect than to knowingly video someone being killed.
Typical, air shows pushing the limits ! Waste of a life .