Military1970

RAF Lightning XS894 lost over the North Sea

When: 8 Sep 1970
Where: North Sea off Flamborough Head, England
Sources: 2 public sources

A Lightning F6, the same type as XS894, which was lost in 1970 Adrian S Pye, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

USAF exchange pilot Capt. William Schaffner was lost when his RAF Lightning from Binbrook hit the sea at night during an exercise shadowing a slow RAF target aircraft; his body was never found. Claims from 1992 on that he chased a UFO conflict with the inquiry's accident findings.

Sources

OfficialBoard of Inquiry: accident to Lightning XS 894; 5 Squadron, RAF Binbrook, on 8 September 1970 (DEFE 71/95) (opens in a new tab)The National Archives (UK)
OtherCaptain Schaffner's last flight (opens in a new tab)Dr David Clarke (originally Fortean Times 194) / 2005

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Where it fits

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