Sixpence Worth of Luck by John (Chris) Pettit (Captain, British Airways, retired)
Eddy Norris
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I was a junior First Officer on BOAC Boeing 707 aircraft in May 1970. We were ‘slipping’ in Anchorage, Alaska, after a trip from London to Tokyo, and were homeward bound after a week away. Over a few drinks that night I was telling the story about the air display that officially opened Salisbury International Airport (was it in 1954?). I was then 8 years old and was taken by my father and mother to watch the momentous event in our first motor car, a Hillman Minx. Some short time previously Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret, had visited Rhodesia on an African tour. At that same time the Royal Air Force were operating the Commonwealth Flying Training Scheme whereby RAF pilots were trained in Commonwealth countries as part of their initial training. A training squadron using North American Harvard aircraft was based at Gwelo (today Gweru,) and they took part in the flying display. To mark the royal visit, at the end of their formation flying display, they formed the letters ‘E R’ as seen from the main viewing area. As they were completing this final fly past, one aeroplane, near the base of the ‘flying box’ they were making, collided with another. As if in slow motion one wing of each aircraft folded upwards and the two aircraft plummeted to the ground. There were great bangs as they hit the ground, and a main wheel of one aircraft landed about 20 feet from where I was perched on the roof of our car. The three pilots were killed instantly. As I was finishing the story I was interrupted by my Senior Co-Pilot colleague, Bill Blake. He pulled out a silver coin, took a long look at it, and passed it to me. I did as he instructed and saw that I was holding a Rhodesian silver sixpence. Bill went on to explain that all the aircraft were manned by an instructor plus student (the students had all just graduated with their ‘wings’) except for the one aircraft. To see who would fly solo Bill and another pilot had tossed a coin, the sixpence I was holding. Bill lost the throw and flew with an instructor. The winner of the throw flew by himself. At the end of their display, when the formation changed from the ‘E R’ to the ‘flying box’ this pilot did a barrel roll around the ‘box’. Misjudging his re-join at the end of the roll he collided with another aircraft, as luck would have it, next to the one Bill was in with his instructor. Oil and glycol from the engine of one of the doomed planes covered Bill’s canopy, severely reducing visibility. Bill’s instructor had to partially open the canopy and flew back to Gwelo sticking his head out of the cockpit from time to time to see where the other aircraft were. When we left to go home, the dirt road we had come in by now had a 10 foot crater where one of the Harvards had crashed. A very sobering sight, especially to a young 8 year-old boy, but still not enough to put him off a career in aviation. Today I am 12 years retired from British Airways, having finished up as a Training Standards Captain on the Boeing 747-400. Best Wishes,
End Thanks to John for sharing his memories with ORAFs. To view this article on line please click on either image above or on the link below. Comments can be sent to ORAFs at ORA...@gmail.com
Kind Regards |
Distributed to ORAFs and Friends