Short/Hobbs – 18 Apr 99
A8-291 [6,340.5 total flying hours]
Pilot: FLTLT Anthony ‘Shorty’ Short
CAT A – 1,016.4 hrs F-111 (qualified Test Pilot)
Navigator: SQNLDR Stephen ‘Nige’ Hobbs
CAT C – 926.5 hrs F-111
Fatal Accident @ Night, Maritime Strike. During a night simulated maritime strike attack, the aircraft impacted trees on an 1,100’ ridge on Pulau Aur (Aur Island), 24 nm to the south east of Pulau Tioman (Tioman Island), off Malaysia’s southeast coast. The aircraft was destroyed during the impact and subsequent fire and both crew members were killed. The aircraft impacted tall trees on a ridgeline, then tumbled in the air for a further mile down track before coming to rest in the jungle. Due to the inaccessibility of the region, the RAAF left most of the wreckage of A8-291 on site.
Editors Note: This was the 58th and last F-111 fatal accident world-wide … F-111 Fatal Accidents
Wreckage of A8-291
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Accident summary. SQNLDR Anthony ‘Shorty’ Short and SQNLDR Stephen ‘Nige’ Hobbs died in the crash of F-111G A8-291 during night flying operations. The highly experienced and universally respected crew were lead of a two ship of two F-111G aircraft conducting maritime strike training against a flotilla of British Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy and Republic of Singapore warships during a Five Power Defence Agreement (FPDA) Integrated Air Defence Exercise. The aircraft impacted Pulau Aur, a small island in the South China Sea. SQNLDR Anthony Short had over 1000hrs F-111 and was a graduate (and DUX) of the United States Navy Test Pilot School. SQNLDR Stephen Hobbs was the XO (second in command) of 6SQN and had over 1000hrs F-111 and Tornado, and had seen active service whilst on exchange with the British RAF in the skies over Iraq. Our sympathy goes out to the family and friends of Shorty and Nige. Their names have been added to 113 others on the honour roll of the Aardvark Memorial in Clovis NM USA. … more accident details in this extract from DDAAFS Safety Magazine “Sifting Through the Evidence” DDAAFS_F-111 Accident_291