THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS AND IS NOT A DEFINITIVE LISTING - ANY HELP WITH CREW PHOTOS EXTRA INFO APPRECIATED

   Extra Information to be added and updated for

   RAF
   German Air and Naval Forces
   Italian Air Force
   Royal Saudi Air Force

  Aircraft by type

Tornado
Losses & Ejections

With regard to Tornado ZD451 (lightning strike) I remember reading the official accident report on this particular crash and I believe the crew were severely reprimanded for ejecting from a serviceable aircraft. Apparently they could have saved the aircraft by jettisoning the drop tank
which was all that was on fire.
Hope this is of interest to you.
Gary

The Jaguar crashed into the North Sea Cromer, Norfolk

On approach to Goose Bay, Canada after loss of control due to flap failure. It hit the runway and bounced and crashed inverted in woods.

8-11-1984

crashed near Shwenfurt, West

Germany

The aircraft began to buffet and tumble out of control after the pilot had taken violent evasive action to avoid a USAF A10A. He was unable to reach the ejection handle so the navugator initiated command ejection.

[bmal/224] & [bmalog/105]

I don't think the information on ZA603 is altogether accurate - my memory from the accident report
was that the navigator had been reading an article on the effect of high power HF transmissions on
'fly by wire' aircraft (the HF radios on Tornados were at one time inhibited because transmitting
caused the right hand engine to go into reheat) just prior to the sortie and noted that the routing
took them quite close to some radio masts.

He was actually looking down at his knee pad map when the pilot made an aggressive manoeuvre to
avoid the A10 and thought the aircraft had gone out of control. He immediately ejected and as the
command ejection system was set to 'both' he ejected the pilot as well.
The command ejection system was always set to 'both' after Squadron Leader Mike Stephens lost his life in the first Tornado
crash in Sept 1983. The aircraft lost all power and it was agreed between the crew that the
navigator would eject first followed by the pilot. It was thought that the fumes from the ejection
seat rocket pack may have incapacitated the pilot and he was unable to eject. Sadly, his wife was
working in RAF Honington air traffic control at the time. I spent a couple of cold nights as a crash
guard at the site (which was actually in a ploughed field on the edge of WOLFERTON village, a few
hundred yards from the Queen's estate railway station and not Wolfeston Marsh).

Hope this is of interest to you.

Regards
 Gary Waters
in email 4th May 2008

Re RAF Tornado ZA493
Your site says that this aircraft was from 41 Sqn and the Jaguar that it hit was from 20 Sqn - this is the wrong way round.
The 20 Sqn Tornado had taken off from Waddington (on detachment from Laarbruch) and the Jaguar was from 41 Sqn

I hope this helps.
Cheers

Steve Cook
in email 11th November 2008
[amended 22nd November 2008]
 

IS THIS THE LOSS REPORTED BELOW ?

ZA448
I remember us losing one aircraft whilst we were in Nellis in March 88, not sure about the second (unidentified aircraft).
I think this is probably a ghost listing for the same crash.

I hope this helps.
Cheers

Steve Cook
in email 11th November 2008
[amended 22nd November 2008]
 

 flew into a
formation of 8 West German Air Force Alpha Jets on approach to Wittmund colliding with two of
the trainers. The Tornado and one of the Alpha jets crashed near Weismoor. Two crew of Tornado
killed. Pilot of Alpha Jet 40+87 of JBG 43 ejected.
[afm f/7/89] & full report [afm/j/15/90] & [bmal/237]

WAS THERE ANY EJECTION ATTEMPT BY THE TORNADO CREW ???

 

Flt. Lt. R. Stewart ejected POW. Later released. 

Flt. Lt. D. Waddington ejected POW. Later released.

ran out of fuel following a missed approach in weather. 

Sqn. Ldr. R. Ankerson ejected - POW

Flg. Off. S. Burgess ejected - POW

[Pilot Flt. Lt. Simon Burgess was killed when parachute failed to deploy when ejecting from Hawk
T.1 XX164 on 13-2-1996]

Martin-Baker

O.Lt. M. Gohler 

Lt. Cdr. K. Seemann

One more for your list is that of Tornado GR1 ZA330 (B08) of TTTE Cottesmore
which had a low level mid air collision with a Cessna over Sherwood Forest
in late 98 early 99 just before TTTE ceased flying. The pilot was an Italian
student with a British QFI in the back seat. There was no ejection made
however, through the impact to the radome the pilots drogue initiated a
manual release but the aircraft crashed within seconds. Unfortunately the
occupents of the Cessna also perished. Further to the aircrafts history,
ZA330 was the first British Tornado to do an inadvertent wheels up landing
at RAF Coningsby around 84 time. It was so badly damaged it was ferried to
BAE Warton for an extensive rebuild. Spookily, I was the see in crew on B08
in 1980 when the aircraft arrived at TTTE on initial dispatch to the RAF
with A BAE crew.

Regards Terry Haggan

in email 16th February 2008

crashed into woodland on a golf course  near Albachten, 6 miles southwest of Munster, Germany

crashed 8 miles south of Laarbruch, some 2 miles west of Kamp Lintford, beetween Geldern and Issum

Royal Saudi Air Force

Royal Air Force

Wednesday 15^th May 2002

German AF

Panavia Tornado

Crashed in mountains while operating out of Holloman AFB tactical training centre New Mexico, USA

One crewmember ejected safely

Martin-Baker 

nr 35

Source List and Acknowledgements to be added