F-4C Phantom 64-0873 near South Duffield.
During the afternoon of Wednesday, 5th February 1969 four F-4 Phantoms from 92nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Bentwaters, Suffolk were detailed to carry out a multi-stage training exercise over England. The first part saw them detailed to carry out a night time refuelling exercise with a tanker aircraft, to then undertake a high level exercise followed by a low level training exercise before then returning to base. Most of the exercise was due to be carried out in darkness and part of the exercise was required to allow the pilot of one aircraft to qualify for night air to air refuelling. They took off from Bentwaters, Suffolk at around 17.15hrs. They successfully carried out the refuelling with a Boeing KC-135 tanker aircraft over the general area of Yeovilton. The four then flew the high level part of the flight that took in Wallasey (Liverpool) and Ouston (Newcastle) as turning points. Unfortunately after this part of the flight two of the aircraft made immediate returns to Bentwaters owing to technical issues. The remaining two aircraft, Phantoms 64-0873 and 64-0874, continued with the planned exercise. They descended and while over the Holy Island area began the low level part of the flight south. 64-0874 became the lead aircraft and 64-0873 flew as the number two, following it with around a mile gap behind. The cloud base affected the visibility so on their flight south they abandoned the low level flying roughly over the Sheriff Hutton and climbed back up to 5,500 feet. They had intended on flying at that height back to Bentwaters in formation so the gap between the two aircraft needed to be closed. Neither aircraft had had their inertial navigation equipment set so the co-pilot of one and the navigator of the other turned their attention from observing where they were flying to looking down at the equipment to make the co-ordinate settings required. This temporarily removed a second pair of eyes acting as lookouts in both aircraft. At 19.13hrs while over Aughton at 5,500 feet the aircraft collided with the right wing of 64-0873 striking the belly of 64-0874. The pilot of 64-0873 found that control could not be maintained so the two crew immediately ejected. The aircraft dived into a field between South Duffield and Menthorpe and the two pilots landed nearby but were both quite badly injured by the ejection and in their landings. A helicopter from Leconfield picked both men up and they were taken to Lindholme airfield where they were initially admitted to the base hospital. The aircraft's captain was then transferred to Doncaster Royal Infirmary.
Pilot - Lt Col Donald T Lynch USAF (FR.40752). Injured.
Co-Pilot (back seat) - Capt Anthony E Sultan USAF (FV.3157641). Injured.
Pilot - Cpt Dennis Clark Petty USAF (FV.3157555).
Navigator - Major Max Gerald Owens USAF (FR.3023196).
Historians Eric Barton, Albert Pritchard and Ken Reast sought permission from the landowners to search for both crash sites in 2004. They located small fragments of one in a field around a mile north-east of South Duffield to confirm the location of one site. The other Phantom crashed just metres from Ellerholme Farm, Wroot which the owners of showed them the location and some fragments were also located.
The two fragments were retained Eric after his visit to South Duffield.
Tony Sultan also served in Vietnam flying F-4's. He gave his account of this incident to Palm Springs Air Museum on Youtube (see 38.00 minutes) in a superb interview about his wider experiences of flying the F-4.
The crew of the other / lead aircraft, Phantom 64-0874, found that after the collision their aircraft remained flyable but the port engine cut out and the fuel system was damaged. This crew were directed toward Finningley airfield and managed to fly it for seven minutes before the fuel drained out and the other engine failed. The pilot then directed the aircraft away from any built up areas and the two crew then ejected over Lindholme airfield. One of the ejection seats landed on and damaged a hanger roof at Lindholme airfield. Both airmen landed very close by. One landed on Hatfield Moors, was picked up by another helicopter from Leconfield and taken to Lindholme airfield there while the other landed so close to the airfield he walked there. The aircraft dived into a field next to Ellerholme Farm, Wroot, just south of Hatfield Moors and metres into Lincolnshire. I have not created a webpage for this second aircraft as the bulk of it crashed outside Yorkshire but have included a mention of it as the ejection seats and the associated cockpit canopy that detached during the ejections landed in Yorkshire.
Donald Lynch had served in the United States Navy as a navigator during the Second World War before then remustering as a pilot where he then served in the Army Air Corps and United States Air Force. He flew in both Korea and Vietnam Wars. He sucessfully abandoned F-84 Thunderjet 47-1526 over Pennsylvania on 16th March 1950. At some stage he was awarded the American DFC and also the Air Medal for service in Vietnam. He died in Florida in February 2013, aged 86.