This Friday, September 13 is the 20th Anniversary of the crash on a property near Guyra of an F111C Fighter/Bomber of No. 1 Squadron (1SQN), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), .
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A ceremony will be held at RAAF Amberley in Queensland on that dayfor the crew who lost their lives in the crash and on Sunday, September 15 a memorial service will be held in Guyra.
The F-111C fighter plane crashed while on a routine navigation exercise from Amberley base at Ipswich Qld on September 13, 1993. It crashed onto a property 4km north-west of Guyra on the Tingha Road, with wreckage spread over a half square kilometre.
Witnesses said the plane had caught fire in the air before exploding ‘like a fire cracker’ and falling to earth at around 7.15pm. It appeared to have been following the usual flight pattern, circling near the abattoirs. Radio contact with the plane was lost at about 7pm.
Killed were pilot Flight Lieutenant (FLTLT) Jeremy McNess, 26, of Geelong and navigator Flight Lieutenant Mark Cairns-Cowan, 27, of Forster. A memorial plaque for the two airmen was unveiled on March 16, 2000.
A half hour service will be held at the memorial to FLTLT McNess and FLTLT Cairns-Cowen. which is situated in the grounds of Guyra Shire Council.
The ceremony will start at 10.30 am, and the service will be hosted and run by the RAAF, with the Guyra RSL sub-Branch and Guyra Shire Council assisting. RAAF clergy will be officiating, and the service will be run by present day members of 1SQN (RAAF), under their Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Murray Jones, CSC, RAAF.
During the RSL Commemoration, a new F/A 18H (which is a short-term replacement for the F-111 fleet, pending the delivery of the F35 Joint Strike Fighters), will conduct a fly-past down Bradley Street from the North, and exiting to the South-West as part of the commemorations. It will travel at 500feet (160m) at a speed of 350knots (roughly 600km/h).
Later in the day a private service will be conducted at the Guyra F-111 crash site memorial.
“Please if you can find the time on Sunday, come along and show Guyra and Districts, indeed that of the whole of the Northern Tablelands, support for fallen, returned and ex-servicemen and women by commemorating the loss of these two brave RAAF crewmen,” Guyra RSL president Brian Speary said.
“Aircrew from 1SQN, RAAF will be in attendance at the service and ex-Service and serving members of the ADF are requested to wear medals.”
• WARNING TO FAMILIES AND GRAZIERS:
Families with young children are advised that the fly-past may scare the younger ones in the community and precautions should be taken.
Graziers in the flight path may find some of their stock affected if they are on the flight path in or out of Guyra.
