Our own Viv Swatridge was walking her dog on Middle Hill that January morning in 1983 when she heard a loud bang behind her. She turned to see the Pilot ejecting from a stricken aircraft, which then carried on falling towards the village, narrowly missing  rooftops, and then crash landing in Bottom Mead field, just beyond Beech Tree Close. Villagers reported seeing the crippled aircraft fall, by now with very little forward motion, and throw up a great pall of yellow flame and black smoke on hitting the ground.

The Pilot, Lieutenant Kevin Fox, landed safely in Lankham Bottom, and had managed to make a Mayday call to his Yeovilton Base in those last few frantic seconds before ejecting. As a result, a Naval helicopter was on the scene within minutes, as were local police and more than 20 firemen from fire stations as far away as Poole. 

The Pilot walked into the village and was pleased to hear that the aircraft had come to ground without further incident. He politely declined the offer of a cup of tea from a villager, and was then whisked back to Yeovilton by helicopter for medical checks. It was confirmed later that the aircraft had been one of a pair on a training flight, and was not carrying any weapons or explosives.

The accident was the subject of a Naval Board of Enquiry as of course the result could have been disastrous. Newspapers at the time reported the aircraft got into a spin from which it was unable to recover. 

Viv was at the time distressed to see the aircraft heading towards the houses of people she knew personally, and so was very relieved when it crashed in the field with no casualties. Viv’s son Stuart, who was 11 at the time, said that on arriving home from school, he knew something had happened that day, as the dog was running around with its lead still attached!

In the photograph above, you can see where the aircraft came to rest and how close it was to housing. The photograph seems to show very little skidding across the field, as if it fell vertically, and one villager described it as “fluttering to the ground like a leaf” 

As soon as the Police arrived, the field was cordoned off to prevent onlookers straying into what could be a very dangerous area, but also to preserve evidence which may be of use to the Air Crash Investigators

In the above photograph, you can see the aircraft wreckage being inspected by Naval personnel. You may also notice that it had turned over and landed bottom up.

The crash attracted great media attention and a villager was heard to quip ” we had a field full of sailors and a pub full of journalists”.

The above photograph is reproduced with the kind permission of Robin A Walker.

It shows Sea Harrier FRS1, (Fighter, Reconnaissance, Strike) ZA177 aboard HMS HERMES in Portsmouth dockyard in July 1982, having just returned from the Falklands conflict.

ZA177 had a short but eventful life. Having been delivered to the Fleet Air Arm in January 1982, by May of that year, ZA177 was on the way to the Falklands conflict, and in the hands of RAF Pilot Flight Lieutenant David Morgan, shot down two Argentine Skyhawks.

The aircraft returned to the UK in July 1982, and then crashed in Cattistock in January 1983.