Restored Hurricane crash

Kyt · Mar 12, 2009

I'd just been reading about the restoration in Flypast

BBC NEWS | England | Essex | WWII fighter plane crash-lands

A rare World War II fighter plane has crash-landed at an airfield in Essex.

Fire crews were called to North Weald Airfield where the Hawker Hurricane Mark II came down at 1140 GMT.

An Essex Fire Service spokesman said the plane is thought to have had a problem with its landing gear but no-one was hurt in the accident.

The spokesman said no-one had been trapped in the plane and no fuel leaked. The ambulance service also attended the incident.
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Kyt · Mar 12, 2009

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...ing-Hurricane-just-weeks-after-buying-it.html

Restored to pristine condition over three and a half painstaking years, the world's only flying Hurricane bomber had taken pride of place in the private collection of a rich flying enthusiast.

But Peter Teichman suffered not only a dent to his pride yesterday, but a rather larger whack to the Second World War plane after he crashed it on one of its first flights.

Mr Teichman, who only took delivery of the £1.5 million Hurricane Mark II bomber six weeks ago, suffered a mechanical failure on landing, ditching the plane nose first into the runway.

Now, soon after having paid out thousands of pounds to buy and restore it, he is facing a hefty repair bill.

Mr Teichman said: "I was coming into land perfectly normally at about 65mph and when the wheels touched down there was a mechanical problem and the brakes applied.

"Fortunately I was at a three-point attitude so the aircraft did not flip over. The propeller has been trashed but that's all the damage and the plane is now back on its wheels."

The plane is the latest addition to Mr Teichman's Hangar 11 collection, based at North Weald airfield in Essex. It was delivered six weeks ago and took its maiden flight on January 27th.

The collection also boasts a Mark 11 Spitfire and two American fighters, a P51 Mustang and Curtiss Kittyhawk. The Hurricane completed the "Famous Four" of important WW" Allied forces aeroplanes.

The crash will come as embarrassment to Mr Teichman, who is an experienced pilot and wartime aeroplane fanatic.

A source at the aerodrome said: "It seems as if there may have been a problem with the brakes just after the plane touched down. The nose went down and hit the deck and the tail went up in the air.

"But the pilot was OK and the aircraft was later wheeled back into its hangar."

Eye witness William Page, who works at the Essex Motorcross site adjacent to the North Weald airfield, said: "I watched the plane do a couple of fly-bys, and then it began its approach to land.

"Everything seemed to be going fine until it touched the ground - it looked as though the brakes suddenly locked on and I saw the nose hit the ground and the tail-end flip up."

Five fire engines were scrambled to the airfield along with paramedics after the crash, at 11.40 today/yesterday (wed).

The Hurricane, which was fitted with Browning machine guns and could fly at speeds of 340mph, was credited with playing a vital role helping RAF pilots with the Battle of Britain.

A spokesman for Hawker Restorations in Milden, Suffolk, said the plane took three and a half years to restore and had only had its initial test on January 22.

He said: "It's quite a unique plane in as much as it is the only flightworthy hurricane bomber; it is set up with guns and potentially can carry two bombs.

"Unfortunately we believe there was a problem with the brakes upon landing.

"It nose dived. They don't usually land propeller first and apparently it bunny hopped down the strip.

"We are not very happy. We are waiting to see the damage."

The plane was built in Canada and shipped to the UK in 1940 where it was based in Tangmere, Sussex, and used for escort and reconnaissance work during WW2.
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Gage · Mar 12, 2009

Lucky escape. Glad no one was hurt or the aircraft wasn't a write-off.

Antipodean Andy · Mar 12, 2009

Good to hear the pilot was okay and the damage relatively minor. I think the damage will be beyond the prop given the engine was running, albeit throttled back, when the nose hit the ground.

Kyt · Mar 12, 2009

For a restoration project they are going to have to do a complete strip-back to make sure everything survived the stress.

Antipodean Andy · Mar 12, 2009

Indeed. Heart-breaking for all involved and the wallet. Still, at least the pilot and aircraft are in one piece.

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Restored Hurricane crash

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Restored Hurricane crash

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Kyt Άρης

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