Thundercity lightning crashes during air display.

[John Wood]

An English Electric Lightning T5 (ex RAF XS451) crashed at the biannual Overberg Airshow held near Bredasdorp, South Africa on Saturday, 14 November 2009. The aircraft belonged to the privately owned company, Thunder City, who owns the only flying Lightnings in the world. The airplane took of at approximately 12h15 for a display and left the display box after experiencing hydraulic problems with the aircraft. It flew over the ocean to burn off fuel in an attemt to make an emergency landing at the airfield. Firefighting trucks were on standby along the runway and a safety net for catching the airplane was also erected at the end of the runway should it overshoot the runway in attemp to land safely. The plane crashed at ± 12h25 while returning to the airfield. The crash site is approximately 10km from the runway. The South African Air Force immediately sent out Oryx and Augusta 109 helicopters to the scene. Reports received indicated that the pilot made distress calls that he was unable to eject from the aircraft. The airshow was stopped immediately and decisions had to be made whether to continue with the show or not. The show commenced at 15:00. None of the other aircraft of Thunder City took part in the rest of the afternoon's display programme. The pilot, Dave Stock (46) died as a result of the accident. He was an ex South African Air Force test pilot who flew the Mirage F1, Denel Cheetah and Atlas Impala jets. He was one of the best pilots in South Africa with more than 15 000 flying hours behind his name. Dave will sadly be missed by the South African aviation community. A lucky spectator at the airshow was suppose the take a flight in a Lightning later the afternoon. The Silver Falcon Aerobatic Display Team of the South African Air Force concluded the airshow with the "Missing Man" formation in memory of Dave Stock. The incident is currently under investigation and feedback will be provided when a statement has been issued.

Very sad news, I along with a number of friends visited the Thundercity hanger at Capetown Airport in October 2006 and viewed all their aircraft including ZU-BEX and also had the pleasure of watching a couple of aircraft depart for pleasure flights.