1974 Norfolk mid-air collision
Royal Air Force McDonnell-Douglas F-4M Phantom FGR.2 and ADS (Aerial) Piper PA-25-235 Pawnee · Mid-air collision
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 3 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- Unknown
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Aircraft 1 · McDonnell-Douglas F-4M Phantom FGR.2
- Aircraft type
- McDonnell Douglas F-4
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- XV493
- Operator
- Royal Air Force
- Onboard fatalities
- 2
- Route
- From RAF ConingsbyTo not recorded
Aircraft 2 · Piper PA-25-235 Pawnee
- Aircraft type
- Piper PA-25
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- G-ASVX
- Operator
- ADS (Aerial)
- Onboard fatalities
- 1
- Route
- From BroomfieldTo not recorded
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Psychological
- Environmental issues › Operating environment
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
The 1974 Norfolk mid-air collision happened on 9 August 1974 at Fordham Fen, Norfolk, England when a Royal Air Force McDonnell-Douglas F-4M Phantom FGR.2 of No. 41 Squadron RAF (41 Sqn) collided with a Piper PA-25-235 Pawnee crop spraying aircraft. All three aviators were killed: the pilot and navigator of the Phantom and the pilot of the Pawnee. The Phantom pilot was a Royal Air Force Group Captain and station commander of RAF Coningsby. It was the first collision between a civil aircraft and a military fast jet in the United Kingdom low flying military training system.
Background
The RAF pilot, David Robert Kidgell Blucke, was born on 28 November 1931, and attended Malvern College. He joined the RAF in 1950, and had been on exchanges in Canada, flying the F-101. Around 1966 he had commanded 11 Sqn flying English Electric Lightnings from RAF Leuchars. He was promoted to Group Captain in January 1972 and moved to Coningsby in August 1972.
The RAF navigator, Terence Wesley Kirkland, had attended Foyle College.
Accident
The Pawnee had departed earlier on 9 August 1974 from Southend Airport to a disused airfield, formerly RAF Downham Market, situated near Broomhill and Bexwell, in Norfolk. This location was used as a temporary base to refuel the aircraft and to load pesticide. At about 14:04 the aircraft had finished spraying a field 6.5 miles south of Downham Market and was returning to replenish the pesticide hopper. The sprayer was of ADS Aerials of Southend, with pilot Paul Hickmott, aged 24. He had taken off from the airfield near Bexwell, taking off at 14:30, due to land at 15:10.
The Phantom departed RAF Coningsby at 13:51 to fly a low-level navigation and reconnaissance flight at no lower than 250 ft above ground level. The Phantom was following a standard low-flying route; the Pawnee pilot was aware that military low-flying routes were in the area, but the exact routing was classified and not released by the military. About 14:08 about 1 km west of the village of Hilgay, and at an estimated height of around 300 ft the Phantom, flying at a speed of about 420 kn, struck the Pawnee on its right side. The Pawnee disintegrated, while the Phantom, on fire and shedding parts of its structure, continued on its heading for a further 1 km before it hit the ground inverted. All three aviators were killed: the pilot and navigator of the Phantom and the pilot of the Pawnee. All flying was stopped at Coningsby for the day.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
Both aircraft were found to have been maintained correctly and were legally authorized for the flights. Farmwork Services, who had chartered the Pawnee, had informed the local police authority about their proposed operation and the type of chemical to be used. Nothing in the regulations required them to inform the military, although Farmwork Services had, as usual, informed nearby RAF Marham (an operational airfield about 8 nmi from the accident) that they would be spraying an extensive area of Norfolk between June and August 1974.
Investigation of the wreckage failed to determine if either had a working anti-collision light, and it was only possible to determine the height of the accident from eyewitness accounts. The collision occurred in good visibility at an estimated height above ground level of 300 ft. The investigation could find no evidence to suggest that either of the pilots had a medical problem or that either aircraft had any defect that would have contributed to the accident.
The rules of the air state that the Pawnee should have given way to the Phantom which was closing from the right. But it was accepted that at a closing speed of about 400 kn the time needed by the Pawnee pilot to assess the situation and execute a manoeuvre was minimal. It was also a requirement of the Phantom pilot to make sure that he did not collide with the Pawnee, but clearly in this accident the lack of time was an element. Also the military aircraft had only just turned onto the heading, and with the Pawnee 15° to his left the view may well have been obstructed by the Phantom's canopy frame.
While it accepted the need for the Royal Air Force to practise low level high-speed flying, the investigation report was concerned about the lack of information on the military low-flying route available to civil pilots, particularly those involved with crop spraying, pipeline, and powerline inspection.
Cause
The investigation determined "The accident occurred because neither pilot saw the other aircraft in time to avoid collision. The 'see and be seen' principle was inadequate for preventing collision in the circumstances that existed. A significant feature which contributed to the accident was the absence of any system for co-ordinating military and civil low flying activities in the low flying areas and link routes."
Text from the Wikipedia article “1974 Norfolk mid-air collision” (revision 1362554124, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 1974 Norfolk mid-air collision
- Revision
- 1362554124 · 2026-07-04 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q16895918
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "1974 Norfolk mid-air collision" (page 24500354, revision 1362554124)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: total_fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.