Jet Provost XN583 near Pannal, Harrogate.
On the 12th September 1964 the pilot of this aircraft took off from Church Fenton and was undertaking 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 bankside 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 - P/O Alan David Dennis RAF (4232148), aged 22, of Reading, Berkshire. Buried Kirkby Wharfe Cemetery, Yorkshire.
The pilots gravestone at Kirkby Wharfe cemetery. Alan Dennis was Cranwell trained, as Cadet Pilot he
received his permenant commission in the RAF on 28th February 1964.
I was fortunate to be invited to visit the crash site with air historians Dick Barton, Ken Reast and Albert Pritchard in June 2007. They had made contact with
a local 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 !
