A memorial service is being held to mark the 50th anniversary of a plane crash near Bristol which claimed the lives of 15 people. The entire crew of the Bristol Britannia, which was built at Filton, died when it went down at Overndale Road, Downend, while on a test flight.
It crashed into a farm in the area and demolished the farmyard and stables.
A service is being held at the crash site and a plaque will be placed at the scene to commemorate those who died.
Malcolm Ashton was one of the first firefighters on the scene. He said it was something he will never forget.
"It was chaos - debris all over the place, smoke everywhere and loads of people milling around.
Pilots 'heroics' "When we got to the crash scene one crew was sent looking for survivors but unfortunately there weren't any.
"It was a miracle no-one was hurt on the ground as some of the parts of plane were right next to the houses."
Richard Randall is a local historian and said further injury was prevented by the heroic efforts of the pilots.
"What they did was keep the plane in the air longer than it should have been really and in doing so they managed to clear the bulk of the houses.
"It was a miracle really that it came down in those woods. Although the houses in Overndale Road were badly damaged, nobody on the ground was hurt."
The woods at the scene are now known as Britannia Woods.
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