Photo: Everett Aero
It may be easy for the average av-geek to look the other way at the Harrier Jump Jet's less-than-stellar safety record. All the sneers and quips about it being three times more likely to crash than an F-18 and five times more likely than an A-10 are easy to tune out when a Harrier points its jet nozzles downwards and defies gravity against the will of the Lord Almighty.
But for Royal Air Force pilot Martin Pert, the Harrier's chaotic tendencies are harder to ignore. The results of what happened when Pert felt the Harrier's wrath have been consolidated and put back together before being put up for sale on Everett Aero company of Ipswitch, England. Safe to say, the story of how it wound up in this state is a tale that could've only been told during the War on Terror. The scene was the joint-NATO-run Kandahar Air Force base in Afghanistan during the deepest throws of their campaign against terrorist forces in the region.
As Martin Pert and his squadron mates prepared to land after a sortie, a plethora of other air traffic in the area led to a bottleneck of aircraft waiting to land, causing havoc for air traffic control personnel and wasting precious fuel inside the Harrier's fuel tanks in the process. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Pert's wingman's cockpit rang out with a hostile missile alert, possibly fired from an enemy insurgent using a shoulder-mounted portable launch system. In the ensuing chaos, Pert's final approach to the runway was too fast for comfort.
In an attempt to slow things down, Pert desperately pointed the Harrier's lift nozzles downward but still pointed in the opposite direction of the aircraft's travel. While this stopped the Harrier from coming in at a speed sure to destroy both the plane and the pilot, it wasn't enough for a smooth landing. The aircraft impacted the tarmac, folding the landing gear and enveloping the cockpit in flames. Pert managed to eject right as the flames consumed the Harrier's canopy, and he survived with minor injuries.
This epic crash was almost 15 years ago now. The War in Afghanistan is now over, and the remains of Martin Pert's Harrier GR9A have been pieced back together to the point it almost looks airworthy again. But make no mistake, it would be a fool's errand to try and make this Harrier flightworthy again. After the brutal impact forces this airframe endured in Kandahar, there's no telling what kind of structural damage lingers under this Harrier's skin. Safe to say, everyone involved in the affair thinks it's best not to try and tempt fate twice. It's a sentiment we'd have to agree with on the face of it. But heck, gate guard duty outside a museum somewhere seems less stressy than close-air support. Check out the link to Everett Aero's website if you want to learn more.
As Martin Pert and his squadron mates prepared to land after a sortie, a plethora of other air traffic in the area led to a bottleneck of aircraft waiting to land, causing havoc for air traffic control personnel and wasting precious fuel inside the Harrier's fuel tanks in the process. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Pert's wingman's cockpit rang out with a hostile missile alert, possibly fired from an enemy insurgent using a shoulder-mounted portable launch system. In the ensuing chaos, Pert's final approach to the runway was too fast for comfort.
In an attempt to slow things down, Pert desperately pointed the Harrier's lift nozzles downward but still pointed in the opposite direction of the aircraft's travel. While this stopped the Harrier from coming in at a speed sure to destroy both the plane and the pilot, it wasn't enough for a smooth landing. The aircraft impacted the tarmac, folding the landing gear and enveloping the cockpit in flames. Pert managed to eject right as the flames consumed the Harrier's canopy, and he survived with minor injuries.
This epic crash was almost 15 years ago now. The War in Afghanistan is now over, and the remains of Martin Pert's Harrier GR9A have been pieced back together to the point it almost looks airworthy again. But make no mistake, it would be a fool's errand to try and make this Harrier flightworthy again. After the brutal impact forces this airframe endured in Kandahar, there's no telling what kind of structural damage lingers under this Harrier's skin. Safe to say, everyone involved in the affair thinks it's best not to try and tempt fate twice. It's a sentiment we'd have to agree with on the face of it. But heck, gate guard duty outside a museum somewhere seems less stressy than close-air support. Check out the link to Everett Aero's website if you want to learn more.
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