Donald Campbell Coniston crash: What happened?

Donald Campbell was one of the best know adventurers of the 20th century.

On January 4 1967, he attempted to break his own world water speed record of 276mph on Coniston Water.

To break the record, he had to travel over a one-kilometre course, there and back with the average speed counting.

On the first leg, he managed to average 297mph and on the way back, he topped the elusive 300mph mark, before disaster struck.

His boat, Bluebird, overturned, killing him instantly.

These are Donald Campbell's last words before the impact, during a transmission on his final run:

Campbell's body and Bluebird remained at the bottom of Coniston for over 30 years.

The wreckage of Campbell's craft was recovered by the Bluebird Project between October 2000, when the first sections were raised, and in May 2001 when his body was recovered.

Scientific studies have shown that the craft was very close to it's stability limit.

An image on the second run of Campbell's world record attempt shows that the Bluebird's engine had flamed out.

Evidence from the studies indicates that if engine thrust is removed, then the craft travelling at that speed effectively become an aeroplane - causing it to flip.