A Vulcan Bomber narrowly avoided what could have been a disaster yesterday (Sep 16), when it overshot a runway at Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield in Warwickshire (United Kingdom) and stopped just short of a busy public road with cars driving by.
The incident was reportedly caused by a malfunction, according to the caretakers of the retired Royal Air Force (RAF) plane at the XM655 Maintenance and Preservation Society. A small team of skilled and dedicated volunteers maintains and preserves the aircraft, many of whom are ex-RAF, (some even ex-V-Force personnel, one of whom actually worked on the plane while in RAF service).
What Happened To The Vulcan?
“Due to a malfunction of a piece of equipment in the cockpit, the aircraft remained at full power for approximately two seconds longer than intended. This resulted in excessive speed and less distance in which to stop, and the aircraft passed beyond the end of the runway on to the agricultural area, stopping just before the airfield perimeter.”
“The failed equipment was an air speed indicator which had been tested and found satisfactory six days ago, and which started working normally before the end of the run,” they added. “The aircraft brakes worked properly, but were unable to bring things to a halt within the reduced space available.”
The cold war-era bomber was conducting a taxi run ahead of an air show planned for Sunday, which has since been cancelled considering what happened. The pilot is ok and no injuries were reported. All ticket holders for the event has since been issued full refunds.
“As far as we can see, the aircraft is largely undamaged, but in addition to the ongoing recovery work, we also have a lot of inspection work to carry out before we can consider any further live activity,” says the XM655 organization. “We will provide further updates when XM655 has been recovered and we have had chance to assess any damage.
View From The High Speed Taxi Test
Above, you can see an onboard view from a previous taxi run with the plane. It was the third from last of the Vulcan bombers produced for the Royal Air Force, being delivered in late 1964, and was part of the UK’s nuclear deterrent force throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
There are no flyable Vulcans in the world anymore, so even seeing one doing taxi runs at all is a special thing for any aviation enthusiast, which was the plan for Sunday, as such rare occurrences help raise funds for the organization preserving the bomber.
