Curiosities 23 - The Brocklesby Collision

João Henrique Barboza Jorgetto • Jan 25, 2024

In a way, there is a scale of luck that starts with bad luck and goes on to little luck, luck, a lot of luck, and lots and lots of luck. It is in this last classification of the scale that today's story lies.

On September 29, 1940, everything went well on a beautiful afternoon at the Australian Air Force's Flight and Service Training School No. 2 at Forest Hill base, Australia. Young pilot Graham Fuller, aged 22, was taking off with his navigator, Ian Sinclair, for another training session in his career as a military pilot. Another pilot, Jack Hewson, just 19 years old, was also preparing for takeoff with his navigator, Hugh Fraser, to practice his flying skills. Both planes had the same route, and the model was an Avro Anson, which was very common for training cadets at the time.

All right, they both left for their mission. While flying over the quiet town of Brocklesby, they began a maneuver to turn direction when Fuller suddenly lost sight of the other aircraft. The following seconds and the collision noise already demonstrated where the aircraft was: well below his plane. Immediately, Ian Sinclair jumped from the crashed aircraft, as did the navigator from the other aircraft. Pilot Hewson, injured in the back by the propeller of the aircraft above, also jumped to escape what seemed like a tragic end. Only Fuller remained on the aircraft, who noticed something unusual.

The collision caused severe damage to both aircraft, but an unbelievable event happened: the aircraft got stuck, and even more incredible, they continued to fly!

Fuller's Anson, on top, had lost its engines, but the controls still responded and seemed to guide the mix of aircraft in the air. Fuller then flew for eight kilometers, half gliding and half taking advantage of the fact that the Avro's engine beneath him still produced some power until finally executing a perfect emergency landing, oddly enough.

The four young soldiers were safe and the accident attracted the world's attention to the scene.

For his courage and bravery, in addition to preventing a greater tragedy from happening with the crash of planes in the city, Fuller was promoted to sergeant, but not before serving 14 days in jail for what happened. Hewson recovered from his injuries and returned to flying. And the fate of the planes? Fuller's Avro Anson was repaired and continued its training missions in Australia, while Hewson's more damaged Anson was used as a shore instruction platform.

In 2007, a monument with the engine of an Avro Anson was inaugurated in Brocklesby to remember the curious case.