YEOVILTON LIFE: Inquiry underway after Sea Fury makes crash landing at RNAS Culdrose Air Day

AN inquiry is underway this evening (Thursday, July 31, 2014) after a historic aircraft based at RNAS Yeovilton was forced to make an emergency crash landing at an air show in Cornwall.

The two-seat Sea Fury T20 VX281, part of the Royal Navy Historic Flight, brought the show at RNAS Culdrose to an abrupt and premature end when pilot Lt Commander Chris Gotke expertly brought the plane down as an emergency due to mechanical problems.

PHOTO - TOP: No problems at Air Day at RNAS Yeovilton on Saturday (July 26, 2014) as the Sea Fury comes in to land. It had a far more dramatic landing today (Thursday, July 31, 2014) at RNAS Culdrose.

PHOTO - RIGHT: The Sea Fury comes to a halt after giving a display during the Air Day press preview event at RNAS Yeovilton on Tuesday, July 22, 2014.

Onlookers said that they could see smoke billowing from the plane and then the landing gear would not work properly and Lt Cdr Gotke had to come down with just one wheel fully operational.

That led the plane to hit the runway and then bounce before skidding off onto grass.

The pilot was thankfully uninjured and got out of the aircraft unaided as emergency vehicles raced to the scene.

The aircraft has been on long-term loan to the Royal Navy Historic Flight since 2007 and has been appearing at air shows since 2011.

The same Sea Fury had taken part in the International Air Day at RNAS Yeovilton on Saturday (July 26, 2014) without any problems.

It is one of two Sea Furies within the RNHF fleet.

The other aircraft, the single-seat Sea Fury FB11 VR930 has been under restoration some years and was on static display at Yeovilton last weekend.

The Sea Fury was built by Hawker between 1945 and 1955 and saw service in the Korean War.

The Sea Fury which crashed landed today at RNAS Culdrose was among the last of the display acts, while at Yeovilton on Saturday it was the first on "stage."

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