McDonnell RF-4C 68-0566 of the 1st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, USAF, crashed on Cairnsmore of Fleet near Newton Stewart on the 28th March 1979

 

Thomas James Seagren Captain Pilot Killed
Roy Valton Spalding Captain WSO / Navigator Killed

 

The crew were on a low level reconnaissance training flight from RAF Alconbury near Huntingdon when the aircraft struck the southern side of Eastman’s Cairn, a ridge which extends west from the summit of Cairnsmore of Fleet above the town of Newton Stewart in Dumfries & Galloway.

Crash site of McDonnell RF-4C Phantom on Cairnsmore of Fleet near Newton Stewart
The crash left a large scar which has small pieces of metal lying among the rocks.
Crash site of McDonnell RF-4C Phantom on Cairnsmore of Fleet near Newton Stewart
Looking in the opposite direction along the line of flight.
Small fragments of wreckage at the crash site of RF-4C Phantom 68-0566 on Cairnsmore of Fleet, Dumfries & Galloway
One of the tiny fragments of the aircraft which remain at the crash site.