top of page
1961 Hunting P-84 Jet Provost T.3A XN629 tail flag skin tag

1961 Hunting P-84 Jet Provost T.3A XN629 tail flag skin tag

What an interesting story this aircraft has.

The aircraft was sold by the Royal Air Force in 1992 as XN629. It was eventually transported in a

partially disassembled state to Binbrook where it was re-assembled in the autumn of 1993 and

modified in preparation for placement on the UK civilian register with a Permit to Fly. Permission to

retain the RAF colour scheme was obtained and the aircraft was registered as G-BVEG.

The pilot, who had no military flying experience, purchased G-BVEG in March 1994 and obtained

flight training from an instructor qualified on type before taking delivery of his aircraft. The flight

training included aerobatics and the procedures for abandoning the aircraft in flight. The pilot/owner

20

was not shown how to check the ejection seat for serviceability or correct locking and he did not seek

such training because he understood the seat to be 'inert'. After the training, a crack was discovered in

the canopy above the right-hand ejection seat (see Plate 2). The owner consulted the vendor and his

instructor as to the cause of the crack. It was concluded that the crack had probably been caused by

very slight movement of the instructor's seat which, at the time, was fully adjusted to its uppermost

position. The canopy was changed but no specialist check of the ejection seat security was carried out.

The next day the weather was unsuitable for further training and the aircraft was ferried to

North Weald by the instructor.

A few days later the pilot decided to fly the aircraft with his brother as passenger. The passenger had

no pilot qualifications and had never before flown in a jet aircraft with an ejection seat. Being aware

of his brother's inexperience, the pilot briefed him carefully on the procedure for abandoning the

aircraft which was to jettison the canopy, release himself from the seat by pulling the manual

separation handle on the side of the seat, stand up, dive over the side towards the trailing edge of the

wing and then, when well clear of the aircraft, pull the parachute ripcord 'D' handle which was just

above his waist on his left-hand side. Whilst sitting on his own seat the pilot assisted his brother to

strap-in and a youth standing outside the cockpit assisted the passenger with his shoulder straps. The

passenger felt secure in his seat but whilst taxiing out he felt slightly uncertain about the procedure for

abandoning the aircraft. He expressed his concern and so the pilot reviewed the procedure with him

and the passenger felt for and found the location of his parachute 'D' handle. Both aircraft occupants

were wearing military style helmets with boom microphones and the passenger was wearing a leather

flying jacket with the collar turned up around his neck for protection from a cold wind.

The aircraft departed from North Weald for a short familiarisation flight over East Anglia. At some

time the passenger dropped his sunglasses which he was unable to retrieve and so he lowered the

tinted visor on his helmet. The navigation phase of the flight proceeded uneventfully and near

Colchester the pilot decided to carry out some rolling manoeuvres. He handed his map and checklist to

the passenger and then commenced an aileron roll to the right at 3,000 feet altitude and 220 kt. This

roll was uneventful and so he executed a second roll to the left from a similar altitude. During the

second roll the passenger felt his seat move slightly and then near the inverted flight position the seat

suddenly slid up the rails, due to gravity forces, ruptured the canopy and left the aircraft.

The passenger was unhurt as he passed through the canopy but totally perplexed by the sudden

absence of anything around him. He recalled falling in the seat for a second or two and then falling

free of the seat for a few seconds. He reached for and found the parachute ripcord handle in the

pre-briefed position and pulled it. His parachute opened and his rate of descent was arrested, but

shortly after the parachute had inflated, he experienced difficulty in breathing. He was aware that his

legs were unsupported and that the whole of his lower body was free to move, but his chest was

compressed and he could feel something hard pressing on his throat through the collar of his jacket.

Despite being unable to breathe freely, he remained conscious, saw the ground and prepared himself

for impact by bending his legs. He landed in long grass and was assisted by two persons who had

observed his descent. Once the parachute had been removed, the passenger was able to breathe freely

once more and he was soon assisted by the emergency services. He was taken to hospital, examined,

treated and released the next day. His injuries were a strained neck, swollen tongue and swollen throat

but there was no evidence of any entanglement in the parachute rigging lines.

The pilot managed to land the aircraft uneventfully.

These skin tags are from the flag on the tail of this aircraft of which we managed to acquire the entire thing. Approx 9.5x3.5cm they come with a copy of the removal paperwork.

Colour options available- price is for one, standard imperfections from operations and cutting.

Photos are examples only

Limited stock of Union Jag tags- per the options.

    £19.95Price
    VAT Included

    Related Products

    bottom of page