At 20.15hrs on Thursday, 21st September 1954 this 92 Squadron aircraft took off from Linton on Ouse airfield with the pilot detailed to undertake a high altitude night cross-country training flight. An hour after taking off he made a radio transmission to state that he believed that he was flying in the general area of Linton on Ouse but that he was struggling to locate his exact position. Ground controllers gave him several vectors to steer toward to direct him back to Linton on Ouse. At 21.19hrs he was contacted by Linton on Ouse's control tower to say that his aircraft was over the airfield, this signal was acknowledged by the pilot. Just over two minutes later the aircraft was flying in the area of Kilburn when it dived at high speed into Hood Hill and exploded. The pilot was killed instantly. He has a grave in Shepherdswell Churchyard, Kent though given the nature of how the aircraft crashed it is highly likely that little was ever found of him. The crash site therefore deserves the respect for this reason alone.

Owing to the high speed at which the crash occurred, the near vertical angle of descent on to rock and the complete destruction of the aircraft, the accident investigation could not precisely identify the cause of the crash. Firstly, it was never established why the aircraft was some eleven miles from and so far from Linton on Ouse airfield when, only a short time earlier, the pilot had been informed he was over the airfield. It was suggested that he mistook Topcliffe airfield's lights for that of Linton on Ouse; Topcliffe being only a relatively short distance from crash site, and this seems the most likely explanation for him being in the area. Secondly, how and why he apparently lost control of the aircraft proved very difficult to investigate owing to the total destruction of the aircraft. In the days prior to the crash various reports of faults in Sabre XD733's nose undercarriage were filed, whilst they were all investigated at the time no faults were found on the ground and as a result nothing was done. The aircraft had took part in Battle of Britain day aerobatics display three days prior to the crash. Another 92 Squadron aircraft, Sabre XD635, had suffered an opening of the nose-wheel door in flight only a short time before Sabre XD733 crashed but because of this control XD635 was lost and only regained after the door had detached in flight this cause could be researched. A faulty door up-lock was to blame in this case. Whilst not proven the same may well have happened with XD733 but the door did not detach itself here. The fault on the door up-lock was further tracked to an incorrect part being fitted at the time of manufacture. The aircraft should have had both a port and starboard bell crank, which operated the door jack. In these incorrect cases two port bell cranks had been fitted, both types looked identical although various linkages would prevent the door being fully locked in place. The incorrect part was built into the aircraft from new and could not be detected in any maintenance program. It was deemed probable that the same fault occurred with XD733 which eventually led to the crash on Hood Hill.

This Sabre was built by Canadair Ltd in May 1953 in Montreal, Canada. It is believed to have been initially built for a USAF contract and issued with the airframe number 52-10204. This was cancelled and it was diverted to RCAF use as 19751 but was acquired by the MoD under the MDAP scheme which saw it delivered to the UK. It arrived in the UK on 20th July 1953 and was given the RAF serial number XD733. It was held in MU storage until being issued to 92 Squadron base at Linton on Ouse, who were converting from Meteor F.8's in February 1954. It was destroyed in the crash on Hood Hill on 21st September 1954. Cat.5(s)/FA Burnt damage was the damage assessment and it was struck off charge the same date. Up to the crash it had flown a total of 139 hours.

Pilot - F/O Colin Arthur Grabham RAF (4047162), aged 23. Buried Shepherdswell Churchyard, Kent.

A memorial at the top of Sutton Bank in memory of Colin Grabham and also in memory of the crew of a Halifax which crashed nearby on Hood Hill during the War (This other incident is also detailed on this website). Davis Morris, of Sowerby, Thirsk instigated this memorial in conjunction with the North York Moors National Park authority and it is a fitting tribute to both Colin Grabham and the Halifax crew.

Colin Arthur Grabham is believed to have been born in Dover on 3rd February 1931. He was the third of five children of Donald Joseph and May (nee Sanders) Grabham with his father listed a poultry farmer in Shepherdswell, Kent in 1939. He would have attended the village primary school, then known as Sibertswold School, and would probably then have gone to grammar school in Dover. Colin was granted a short service commission in the RAF on 5th December 1951 to the rank of P/O and was placed on the active service list for eight years with a further four on the reserve. His period of service was back dated to 18th September 1950. He rose to F/O on 5th December 1952. He had 136 hours flying time on the Sabre at the time of his death. His nick-name appears to have been "Snatch" Grabham on 92 Squadron. To date, I have not been able to locate a photograph of him and would appreciate one should anyone be able to oblige. I thank Carol Howell for contacting me in 2025, for the additional information on Colin Grabham and for supplying the photograph of his grave shown here. His father Donald died in Dover in March 1957 and his mother possibly died in London in September 1970.

The impact crater made by the Sabre still clearly visible fifty years after the crash and will probably always remain there. Local folklaw suggests that the aircraft impacted with a large rock on the hilltop / ridge called "The Altar", a stone visible for some distance due to the size. This stone was said to have had a "dinosaur" footprint in it. Photographs of the massive rock must be in existance, if anyone has one I would love to see it.

I first visited the site in July 2003 and have since returned to the site a number of times. The same small fragments of the aircraft seen in 2003 were still to be found on the surface as late as 2006. The number of fragments then decreased substantially and new fragments turn up to then disappear again. Why anyone persists in digging or removing such wreckage is beyond me, out of context with the crash site it can have no use or relevance except to the pilot's family. A worrying find is that digging has occurred at the site in the weeks prior to a visit in February 2007, given the violent nature of the crash and the Sabre cockpit was at the very front of the aircraft there must still be human remains on the site. As such the site should be treated with the respect it deserves. This continued until at least May 2009 when the York Press ran a very good article about the incident and what was happening at the site. In 2019 I saw that a mountain bike track passed through the side of the crash site which is probably not a National Park or Forestry Commission created one. This is further damaging the site.

Part of a turbine blade from the aircraft's jet engine that was on a stone in the crater abandoned by it's finder. Very much found in the ground and dug out by someone then left.

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