4th July 2011 was a dreadful day. My good friend Alan Weal was flying G-RVGC that day. He was flying downwind in the circuit at Shoreham and was hit by an aircraft joining the circuit crosswind. G-RVGC lost its tail, became uncontrollable and crashed within seconds, killing Alan when it hit the ground and burst into flames. The other aircraft lost it's propeller but was able to glide to a safe landing at Shoreham. The two instructors on board were uninjured.
https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/vans-rv-6a-g-rvgc-and-da-40d-diamond-star-g-cezr-4-july-2011Alan had a Monroy Traffic Watch in his own aircraft. The Monroy is a non-directional Mode A/C traffic detector that gives audible traffic warnings. I flew with Alan many times and was well used to the Monroy. Unfortunately, on 4th July 2011 Alan was test flying someone else's aircraft that had no such capability.
Alan's death contributes in large part to my drive to improve collision avoidance and increase its use.
Steve
