Jet Provost near Pannal, Harrogate.

On the 12th of September 1964 the pilot of this aircraft took off from Church Fenton for a training exercise. On this day, a Thursday and in the afternoon he was flying in the Harrogate area for about twenty minutes when his aircraft struck trees and crashed into the bank of a stream below Hill Top Farm, Pannal. He was flying aerobatics at an unauthorised low level at the time of the crash, these actions sadly cost the young pilot his life. The aircraft broke up on impact and scattered wreckage for some distance up a hillside, through trees and onto a field above.

Pilot - (A)P/O Alan David Dennis RAF (4232148), aged 22, of Reading, Berkshire. Buried Kirkby Wharfe Cemetery, Yorkshire.

The pilots gravestone at Kirkby Wharfe cemetery.

I was fortunate to be invited to visit the crash site with Dick Barton, Ken Reast and Albert Pritchard in June 2007. They had made contact with a gentleman, Mr Thomas Clayton, who farmed the land around the crash site at the time of the crash and had arranged the visit with him. His memory being 100% accurate as to where the incident occured gave us little problem in locating the site. Small fragments were located confirming the location. One larger peice found by Mr Clayton some years ago was also looked at. We would like to thank Mr Clayton for allowing and arranging our visit and for sparing his time with us.

An unidentified peice of the aircraft.

Another peice of the aircraft measuring about four inches across and when cleaned. It is still not identified, it was the only peice I found !