Hunter down off Hawaii

An ATAC owned Hawker Hunter has crashed off Sand Island, near Honolulu. The aircraft was operating as part of the Sentry Aloha exercise. The pilot ejected and suffered serious injuries. Initial indications are power loss while climbing. Sentry Aloha was temporarily suspended.



www.hawaiinewsnow.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

That's an old jet ... I remember Hawker Hunters in Rhodesia when I was a child 40 years ago. Our airforce consisted of Hawker Hunters, Canberras, Vampires and Alouettes.

In support would be propeller-driven ground-attack aircraft and on call would be Canberra bombers, Hawker Hunter and Vampire jets. . On 23 November 1977, the Rhodesian Air Force and 184 SAS and RLI paratroopers attacked 10,000 ZANLA cadres based at 'New Farm', Chimoio, 90 kilometers inside Mozambique. Two days later, the same force attacked 4,000 guerrillas at Tembu, another ZANLA base, over 200 kilometers inside Mozambique, north of Tete on the Zambezi River. Estimates of ZANLA losses vary wildly; however, a figure exceeding 6,000 casualties is realistic. The Rhodesians suffered two dead, eight wounded and lost one aircraft. It would produce the biggest SAS-led external battle of the Rhodesian bush war.

My dad was part of the Mozambique operation.
link

a reply to: deltaalphanovember

That is some op

I was at school with a kid who's dad, after being rtu'd from 22 reg, went there and passed selection at 40. Hell of a bloke too.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Damn, I hope the pilot is ok. The ATAC website says they have 16, well 15 Swiss Hawker Hunters now.

It's a shame the plane was lost. It's great the pilot survived, though it looks like he will have a long recovery ahead.

These warbirds are too old to use as aggressors IMO. They should just buy some Chinese exports. Maybe a dozen JF17s and get a handful of Russian SU-27s to complement the force.

Edit to add:
I see they bought 60+ French F1s and tons of spare parts and 100 spare engines. They should stick to flying those once they are delivered.

a reply to: tadaman

The Hunters are usually used to play target for the Aegis.

ATAC doesn't have too good of a safety record. A pilot I knew was killed when an ATAC Kfir crashed in a snow storm a few years ago.

a reply to: JIMC5499

They've lost three Hunters in the last year or two. They're known for pushing things.

The pilot reported dual engine failure before ejecting.

a reply to: Zaphod58

How do you have a dual engine failure in a single engine aircraft?

a reply to: RadioRobert

Just passing on what is being said. It was pretty obviously engine failure.

a reply to: RadioRobert

There are a few ways. Bad fuel. Fuel management system failure. Catastrophic failure of one engine damaging the other. Pilot error.

a reply to: JIMC5499

I suspect this was a game of internet telephone. Most likely the pilot reported multiple engine failureS, which by the time it got to me was multiple engine failure.

Airborne Tactical Advantage Company’s pilot, Matthew Pothier, is expected to fully recover from injuries obtained when his Hawker Hunter aircraft crashed Wednesday off the coast of Hawaii, company officials said.

www.airforcemag.com...

Thats great news..Are there plans to recover the Hunter?

a reply to: Blackfinger

Depends on if they can determine the cause without it or not. Since it's private the NTSB is lead so it will be up to them.

a reply to: Blackfinger

Looks like they're working to recover it.

The main portion of fuselage has been recovered from 260 feet of water, and trucked over to the Kaneohe Marine Base.

Awesome news.Glad pilot is recovering as well.