Jet Provost T.4 XP670 between Coxwold and Kilburn.
On 5th April 1966 this No.7 Flying Training School aircraft was being flown over North Yorkshire to test the aircraft's instruments at high altitude. On board were two pilots and at the time of the crash they were beginning to head back towards Church Fenton to land at their home airfield. The aircraft was put into a spin in cloud and but it failed to recover from this spin following a barrel roll at 9000 feet over the Byland area. Unable to regain control in the available height the two crew ejected and they came down near High Kilburn. The two airmen survived although one received slight back injuries. The aircraft was circling pilotless with the canopy blown off for a while before it crashed into the ground at the side of a house alongside the Coxwold to Kilburn road. The house sustained slight damage in the impact and as a result of the aircraft catching fire on impact though the fire was put out by the fire brigade before extensive damage was caused.
Jet Provost XP670 was built to contract KC/E/041 by B.A.C. at Luton and was delivered to No.7 Flying Training School on 10th September 1962. Prior to the incident at Kilburn it was
damaged twice before, once in a Cat.3 incident on 18th April 1963 when it was overstressed when the stick was pushed back to hard and the aircraft's instructor attempted to counteract
the pull force, nearly 7 "G" was registered. The aircraft was landed at base but sustained damage, it was repaired only to sustain unspecified Cat.3R damage on 17th June 1965 before
being repaired again. After the crash near Kilburn on 5th April 1966 Cat.5(scrap) damage was the damage assessment and it was struck off charge.
Instructor Pilot - F/Lt Peter Goodman RAF (507763), aged 28.
Pupil Pilot - F/Lt Peter Geoffrey Cowen RAF (608080), aged 25.
General overview of the crash site (above taken at the time of the crash and below taken in around 2000). The outbuilding attached to the house looks to have been rebuilt following the crash and resulting fire. The house is along side the Coxwold to Kilburn road but shows no sign of a name board to identify it. I thank Alastair McFarlane for kindly supply the photograph of the crash site that he took in 1966.
Peter Cowen trained at Cranwell, he was appointed to a permanent commission in the RAF as P/O on 1st August 1961 and rose to F/O on 1st August 1962 (with seniority back dated to 1st August 1961), then to F/Lt on 28th July 1965 and S/Ldr on 1st July 1973. As F/Lt he was awarded The Queen's Commendation for Valuable in the Queens Birthday Honours in June 1972. Service in the Air. He retired on account of medical unfittness on 6th December 1975.
Peter Goodman was appointed to a permanent commission in the RAF as F/Lt on 18th February 1964 and rose to S/Ldr on 1st January 1971 and W/C on 1st January 1981. He would command 207 Squadron from 1975 to 1977.
