It is with great sadness that we share news of the recent passing of Tim Dutton. As a former Senior Flight Physics Engineer at QinetiQ and a Class A Flight Test Engineer graduate of the Empire Test Pilots’ School, Tim was well known to many at Boscombe Down and our thoughts and condolences go out to his family, friends and colleagues at Dawn Aerospace.
Full statement from Dawn Aerospace:
“We are devastated to acknowledge the sudden passing of our much-loved team member, Tim Dutton, due to a medical event last week.
Tim led the flight operations team with a rare combination of wisdom, skill, and humour. Under his guidance, the Mk-II Aurora flew 50 test flights and became the first rocket-powered vehicle to fly three times in three days. His passion and dedication to the spaceplane programme will have an immeasurable and lasting impact.
To the team, he was a great leader, a good friend, a supporter, a mentor, and an inspiration to many, and we’ll feel this loss for a long time.
More importantly, he was a loving husband and father, and our focus now turns to supporting his family.
Moe mai ra e hoa.
Fly high Tim.”