Neil Williams

Neil Williams (1934 to 1977) was a Welsh aerobatic and test pilot who captained the British Aerobatic Team from 1966 until his death. Born in Canada and educated in Wales, he learned to fly in 1951, trained as a Royal Air Force pilot, flew Canberra reconnaissance aircraft in Cyprus and graduated from the Empire Test Pilots' School in 1962. He won all the U.K. domestic competitions in 1965, reached the finals of the World Aerobatic Championships the next year, won the Biancotto Trophy in 1967 and finished fifth in 1970 and fourth in 1976. He was British Aerobatic Champion eleven times and received the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in 1970. He was killed in December 1977 when a CASA 2.111 he was ferrying crashed in the Sierra de Guadarrama near Madrid.