Air Show headliner crashes

One of the headline acts for next month’s Bob Jones Memorial Air Show had a spectacular crash landing at the weekend, and has been ruled out from performing in Welshpool.

The De Havilland Sea Vixen is the last airworthy one of its kind in the world, having been flown from Royal Navy aircraft carriers in the 1960s and 70s.

However, the supersonic plane touched down at its base in Yeovil, Somerset, without its landing gear on after appearing at the Duxford Air Show in Cambridgeshire. It is not clear what happened.

Thankfully, the pilot walked away unscathed from the terrifying crash, but the plane will not be playing a part at the Welshpool event on June 11.

“We are aware of the situation and a replacement is being sourced. We will share more news soon, with a special announcement due tomorrow (Tuesday),” said Robert Robinson, Welshpool Town Clerk.

The aircraft was gifted to Naval Aviation Ltd in September 2014 and now operates from the Royal Naval Air Station, Yeovilton.

The Sea Vixen is an unusually configured aircraft that first flew in 1951.

It was the first British two-seat aircraft to break the sound barrier when it achieved Mach speed in a dive during its operational testing phase in the early 1950s.