Crash-Landed A Sea Fury T20 After Engine Failure
The pilot of a 1944 Sea Fury T20 making a demonstration flight during Air Day at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall last July had kind of a bad day. During the flight, the engine of the airplane began to lose power, causing 44-year-old Lieutenant Commander Christopher Gotke to declare an emergency and extend his landing gear. But the plane lost all power before he could land, and as 21,000 people watched, he made a decision not to eject, and raised the landing gear to improve his glide ratio. As he approached the field, he put the gear back down, but the landing gear collapsed as the plane touched down, and the plane skidded to a stop on its belly.