Fighter jets to fly over Norfolk in tribute to fallen servicemen
F-15 fighter jets from RAF Lakenheath during an exercise in March 2020. Picture: US Air Force/Master Sgt. Matthew Plew - Credit: 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
There will be a flypast over Norwich and north Norfolk in honour of two servicemen killed in a training mission.
The 48th Fighter Wing from RAF Lakenheath will be flying a missing man formation tomorrow, Thursday, November 18.
The flypast is in honour of U.S. Air Force pilot Lieutenant Colonel William Olson and Royal Air Force veteran David Bullock who both died during a training exercise in 1980.
Four F-15Cs from the 493rd Fighter Squadron will leave RAF Lakenheath and fly over Aylsham and Hethersett cemeteries at around 12.45pm.
The missing man formation will be performed in which a pilot will pitch up out of the formation, creating a space where an aircraft should be.
Lt Col Olson and Mr Bullock were both killed during a training mission from RAF Bentwaters in Suffolk on November 18, 1980.
Following a mid-air collision, Lt Col Olson maneuvered his A-10 to water to avoid populated areas prior to ejecting but did not survive the rescue attempt
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Mr Bullock, a RAF veteran and a winchman on one of the responding rescue helicopters, also died in the rescue attempt.
The Spirit of Coltishall Association will be conducting the ceremony to commemorate the accident.
