2001 Biggin Hill Airshow crashes

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Two aviation crashes occurred on June 2–3, 2001, during the annual Biggin Hill Airshow, at London Biggin Hill Airport in Bromley, England. An aircraft landing incident and two separate fatal aircraft crashes occurred during the weekend show. A de Havilland Venom suffered minor damage to its fuselage when it landed with its landing gear retracted. Six hours later, a de Havilland DH-115 Vampire was attempting a wingover, when the aircraft lost control and dived into the ground, destroying the Vampire and killing pilots Kenneth Hayr and Jonathan Kerr. A Bell P-63 Kingcobra crashed the following day after attempting a maneuver with insufficient speed, destroying the aircraft and killing pilot Guy Bancroft-Wilson.

After the conclusion of the airshow, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch opened three investigations into the events of June 2–3 for the Venom, Vampire and Kingcobra respectively. Their findings on how wake turbulence affects aircraft during air displays and how communication issues could be improved between performing aircraft and air traffic control were published in their individual reports. The residents of Biggin Hill agreed that the weekend had been a terrible tragedy and were divided over whether the airshow should continue. Despite the concern, the airshow continued to run annually until 2011, at which time it was replaced by an open house air day.