It must be a shock to a Train driver In England when he hit the wreckage of a crashed scale model powered by kerosene fighter jet last month. And Air accident investigators must have been more surprised when they had to investigate the rather strange incident between Liverpool and Manchester.
The BBC report that the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch recently released a report detailing the odd incident on 16 September in Warrington, 20 miles east of Liverpool and 16 miles west of Manchester. An unidentified 72-year-old man carries a 1:10 scale model of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom off its maiden test flight at the Kenyon Hall Farm Airstrip, a club runway The model is located adjacent to a railway line.
The recently built F-4 model, and the plane was not working perfectly before take off. The report mentions, “During the flight, the pilot noted that the aileron’s reaction was ‘slow‘ but he considers that enough for a safe flight. He then notes that a lift is required to maintain level flight and gradually adopts the ‘up’ cut approach. “Things quickly went wrong.
The model F-4 Phantom was spotted on the railway, but it was hit by a train. Later, the pilot and other members of the club recovered the wreckage. Luckily no one was injured.
G/O Media may receive a commission
Up to 49% off
Samsung Early Black Friday
Black Friday came early!
Samsung is running huge deals on home appliances and vacuums. The sale includes some Bespoke appliances, Samsung’s signature smart appliance series. ‘Tis the season for big purchases—and with sales up to 49% off, you’ll be glad you did.
It isn’t clear exactly how much time passed between the discovery of the model plane’s crash site on the tracks and the train plowing over the wreckage. Though, I want to imagine that the scaled-down F4 was found and then immediately struck by the passing train in comedic fashion.
Network Rail, the United Kingdom’s state-owned rail infrastructure manager, also had comments for the investigators on the incident:
“Network Rail advised the AAIB that an object the size and weight of the model aircraft on a railway track would be unlikely to cause damage or risk of derailment to a moving train. However, collision with a train, in particular the driver’s window, could cause a substantial safety threat, particularly given the carriage of jet fuel in this particular case. It could also represent a risk to track workers or users of the pedestrian crossing.”
The British Model Flying Association (BMFA) has amended its procedures on turbine-powered model flight. Also, the BMFA member’s handbook now includes a 24-hour emergency phone number to report track safety threats to Network Rail. The local club at Kenyon Hall Farm Airstrip will now also require committee approval for turbine-powered flights. The airstrip has been in operation for seven years with 6,500 flights per year, and this was the first time that there had been a crash on the railway line.
