On Thursday, 18th October 1951 this 264 Squadron aircraft was one of two flown on a training exercise that involved one aircraft undertaking practice interceptions on another aircraft which would have then seen them carry out a simulated attack this aircraft with it being filmed by the gun's cine camera. During one of the mock attacks the chasing aircraft, Mosquito RL230, got too close to the target aircraft and ran into it's slipstream. The pilot of RL230 lost control and the aircraft dived into the ground near Crabtree Farm, Kirkby Wiske. The crew killed both crew members. Later in the day the Squadron's Commanding Officer with another officer attempted to take off in the airfield's Tiger Moth with the intension to overfly and possibly land at this crash site, but this aircraft then crashed during take off at Linton on Ouse.
Pilot - F/Lt Michael Antony Furse Woodley RAF (2600022). Aged 22. Cremated Kent County Crematorium,
Navigator - P/O Alan John Priestley Hart RAF (4036278). Aged 20. Buried Newton on Ouse Churchyard, Yorkshire.
Alan Hart's grave at Newton on Ouse. Both men were posted to 264 Squadron from an Operational Conversion Unit on 14th June 1951.
The then landowner Mr Christopher Greensit gave permission for Eric Barton, Ken Reast and Albert Pritchard to do a surface search for the crash site in May 1999 and they located a few small parts of the aircraft. Eric retained some of these items including two small bits of birch wood with light blue paint on one side. Mr Greensit featured in a newspaper article when he was selling the land in 2014 and mentioned these items.
