On 21st September 1978 this aircraft was being flown over the North York Moors as a part of a training flight, during the flight an exercise to practice the procedure for making a forced landing should engine failure occur was carried out. Following this part of the exercise the engine either would not re-start having been shut down, or it failed. The aircraft quickly lost height and crashed onto moorland on Bilsdale Moor and sadly both the crew were killed when the aircraft stopped dead in the soft peat. Although the unit was based at Leeming there is a strong possibility the aircraft had been using Topcliffe airfield and had taken off from there prior to the crash. This was the first RAF Bulldog crash in over 150,000 hours of total flying. Bulldog XX637 was on show at the RAF Museum, Hendon and had been repainted with the serial number "XX530" possibly in memory/tribute to the crew being killed in this accident loss detailed here.
Bulldog XX530 was built to contract KA/C/147 by Scottish Aviation at Prestwick and first flew on 30th May 1973. It was delivered to Little Rissington on 20th June 1973 in an unpainted condition. The aircraft's record states it was attached to CFS at Little Rissington but this seems unlikely as the aircraft was quickly transferred to 5 MU at Kemble from where it was issued in August 1973 to 2 FTS at Church Fenton and coded "-12". (At this point on it's record it states it was transferred to Oxford UAS at Abingdon but this also seems unlikely but it may have been on loan for a short period of time). The aircraft was transferred to RNEFTS at Leeming which operated within 3 FTS on 29th November 1974 and still carried the code "-12". It was written off in the incident above with Cat.5/FA damage being recorded. The remains of the aircraft were taken to RAF Manston Fire School.
Instructor Pilot - F/Lt John David Piercy BSc RAF (2616559), aged 30, of Surrey. Buried Ampleforth RC Churchyard, Yorkshire (grave 252).
Student Pilot - Midshipman Mark Simon RN (C025993D), aged 19, of Dartford, Kent. Cremated Medway, Kent.
John "Jack" Piercy was born 2nd October 1947 in Worcester Park, North East Surrey. He was the son of Frederick and Rebecca (nee Mangham) Piercy. It seems likely that he attended Ampleforth College. He was appointed to a permanent commission in the RAF in 1970, he then rose from P/O to F/O on 15th January 1971 (but seniority back-dated to 15th October 1969) and then to F/Lt on 15th April 1972.
Mark Simon was born 13th March 1959 in Dartford, Kent and was a child of Gareth and Kathleen (nee Alabaster) Simon. At the time of his death he was attached to HMS Heron, RNAS Yeovilton airfield. I thank his brother for kindly contacting me. His parents created at trophy for RNEFTS students in his memory.
