28 January 1960 – Two RF-84Fs

On the afternoon of Thursday 28 January 1960, two Dutch RF-84F Thunderflash aircraft (serials P-19 and P-20) from Deelen Airbase made a stop at Soesterberg Air Base. Due to a wrong turning manoeuver of the first landed aircraft at the end of the runway, the second aircraft collided with it. Both aircraft caught fire. The pilots escaped safely. Although both aircraft were heavily damaged, they were both repaired and stayed in service until 1963 when they were sold to the Turkish Air Force.

This peticular Thursday was a dark day for military aviation in the Netherlands. In the morning, a Belgian F-84 Thunderstreak crashed near the village of Son, killing the pilot. In the early afternoon a Grumann TBM Avenger from the Royal Netherlands Navy crashed in the North Sea. The pilot could be saved by a Dutch Navy ship. In the evening, a F-86K Sabre from Twente AB crashed near Enschede. The pilot was killed.