Comments by Ken Pray
Just before leaving for Canada (April to June 1959 time period), Blackie took a Sabre down to the gunnery range at Decimommanau in Sardinia. On the way down his canopy got iced up and all he could see through was a small aperature that he rubbed clear with his fist and he diverted to Gibraltar. If you have ever flown into Gibraltar you know what a postage stamp it looked like on approach, and a landing had to be coordinated with the tower to ensure that pedestrian traffic wasn't crossing the runway. There was a stoplight there for that purpose. In any event, Blackie hit one of the locals who was crossing on a bicycle and of course killed him. That was the first board of inquiry that I typed up and put together at Marville and I'll never forget the photograph showing that bike tucked up in the undercarriage of the Sabre along with splashes of other things.
Updated: September 27, 2003