Jet Provost T.4 XR645 near Stillingfleet.
Earlier in the evening of Tuesday, 4th October 1966 this No.7 Flying Training School aircraft was flown by a pupil pilot with a flying instructor F/Lt Wilfred Butler. The aircraft then landed at Church Fenton airfield and the instructor subsequently deemed the pupil capable of flying solo at night. The pupil was then instructed to undertake a solo night training exercise and prior to taking off he was warned of cloud layers in the area. The pupil pilot then took off from Church Fenton airfield at 20.47hrs. A short time later and after the aircraft had probably been flown into cloud, the pilot lost control. It dived toward the ground from height at a near vertical angle and exploded in a field near Haverland Farm, Stillingfleet. The pilot had attempted to eject at that last moment but the parachute did not have time to open and his body was found near the crash site.
Pilot - P/O Richard Edward Passman RAF (4232775), aged 19. Cremated Bishopthorpe Crematorium, York.
Historians Eric Barton, Albert Pritchard and Ken Reast sought permission to visit the site and intelligence from the landowner to pinpoint it in August 2009. They found a few small fragments of the aeroplane to confirm the location. The photograph above shows several fragments Eric located.
Richard Passman was born on 12th February 1947 and was the son of George and Joan (nee Sherriff) Passman. At the time of his death his parents lived in Thirsk, North Yorkshire where they ran the Golden Lion public house in the Market Place. Whether his ashes were interred at Thirsk or scattered elsewhere is not known.
