The scene of destruction in Wisbech after the crash (Picture: PA)
A peaceful morning in a Cambridgeshire village turned into a nightmare in a split second when an RAF jet crashed onto houses.
The destruction hit out of a clear blue sky on September 21, 1979, near Wisbech.
It was meant to be a normal Friday for the residents of Elm when two Hawker RAF jets collided mid-air, with disastrous consequences for the unassuming villagers on the ground.
One of the aircraft landed on two houses, flattening them out and killing three people inside.
But it wasn’t caused by a a technical glitch – it was the result of the pilots’ behaviour, an inquiry found after the tragedy.
A Rolls-Royce Pegasus powered Harrier jet (Picture: Rolls-Royce Archive/Getty)
How the Harrier jet crash happened
Those living in the houses on Ramnoth Road were clueless to what was unfolding above them after two Harriers set off from an airbase in nearby Wittering.
The jets were taking part in regular training exercise when they hit each other at about 8,000 ft.
An inquiry later found the collisions was caused by the pilots who were engaged in a mock dogfight, the BBC reported.
One of the fighter pilots reversed its jets to try force the pursuing Harrier to overtake him, the inquiry found.
They were put on a dangerous collision course and before either pilot could try to maneuver away, the jets clipped wings.
Geoffrey Pattie, former defence secretary, told the House of Commons four months after the crash that the squadron commander of the first jet saw his ‘his complete starboard wingtip and outrigger torn off and was obliged to eject almost immediately.’
His aircraft ‘fell almost vertically’ on a field.
A powerful Harrier taking off (Picture: Rolls-Royce Archive/Getty)
At the same time, the second aircraft was spinning out of control towards the houses.
Mr Pattie said: ‘Its pilot managed to retain control for a few seconds, but then it went into an uncontrollable dive and he too had to eject.
‘By this time his aircraft had arrived over Wisbech and it crashed into the town destroyed three houses and, tragically, killing three civilians. Neither pilot was however seriously hurt.’
The crash killed dad Bob Bowers, his son Jonathan, aged two, and Bill Trumpess, the former town mayor.
It narrowly missed two schools and a college before landing on the houses and a bungalow, leaving a giant crater 15 feet wide and 50 feet deep.
‘Dreadful day’
Witnesses described what happened on the tragic day.
Jessie Rose, who was hanging laundry in a neighbouring garden, told the BBC: ‘There was a great shudder – then there was silence. I heard a woman’s voice saying over and over again “my baby’s dead, my baby’s dead.”‘
Susan King, the head of the local primary school just 300 yards away, described how the jet touched the roof of a building before exploding and sending up a cloud of smoke 100 feet into the air.
Wisbeach solicitor Andrew Hodder said he heard the jet screeching across the sky ‘with a noise like a dying animal.’
He said: ‘The aircraft shot over the office roof only a few feet or so above me and crashed a second or two later making a noise like the slamming of an enormous castle gate.
‘Three people were killed but many more could have been. The pilot stayed with the aircraft until the last second and landed close by. A dreadful day.’
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