On Friday, 6th June 1986 crews of two Jet Provosts were undertaking training flights over North Yorkshire with No.7 Flying Training School as part of their Refresher Flying Squadron training. During a formation tail-chase and while roughly over Helmsley the pilots lost visual contact with each other's aircraft. The lead pilot then noticed the other aircraft had got ahead of him but was unable to avoid a collision. The aircraft collided in the skies just north of Helmsley, XW411 skimmed the canopy of XW407 and also removed the tail of XW407, but possibly from behind. The tail may not have totally detached following the collision but perhaps bent forward. All airmen ejected and the two aircraft came down around two miles north of Helmsley into thick woodland.
Instructor - S/Ldr Robert Walter Lindo BSc RAF (5201342N), aged 36. Seriously injured.
Pupil - F/O David Bryson RAF. Injured.
Robert Lindo received a commission to the rank of Acting Pilot Officer on 22nd April 1971, he was graded as P/O on 15th July 1973 (with seniority back-dated to 15th October 1971). He received promotions to F/O on 15th January 1974 (with seniority back-dated to 15th April 1972), to F/Lt on 15th October 1974 and S/Ldr in January 1985. He was Commanding Officer of the 7 FTS at the time of this incident. Bob Lindo broke his back in three places as a result of ejecting from XW407, he left the RAF in February 1988 due to the injuries sustained as a result of the incident detailed above. Bob Lindo later learned to walk again. He now lives in Cornwall and runs the successful "Camel Valley Vineyard" http://www.camelvalley.com . He was featured in an article in The Telegraph newspaper in April 2011 and in a television program "Cornwall with Caroline Quentin" in September 2012. I thank him for contacting me in November 2012.
The colour photograph above shows one of the crashed aircraft in woodland between High Baxtons and Ouldray Farm; this photograph is believed to be from an RAF magazine of which I was given a copy of the photograph during the early years of my research, unfortunately I do not have the name of the publication to credit it properly.
The black and white photograph was found in the Yorkshire Post newspaper and may be a photograph of the same aircraft or possibly XW411. The black and white photograph shows the tail of the aircraft with the first two numbers of the code "-133" visible. On virtually an identical photograph sourced in another newspaper the aircraft serial "XW4.." is visible and it appears to show the numbers "XW411" though the "11" could well be the sides of the number "0" which would refer to "XW407". If these photographs show different sites and as both are on steep wooded hills they could show both crashes or just one and the same aircraft.
This was one incident I remember happening as I was a boy growing up in Helmsley and have since been able to speak to a number of people who remember the incident. In 2005 John Skinn and myself began the difficult task of trying to find where XW407 and XW411 had crashed and searched a huge area of woodland over a period of weeks. In Summer 2006 we located the site of where one aircraft had crashed which I now believe is Jet Provost XW411. In December 2020 I eventually located where the other Jet Provost (XW407) had crashed. At both sites several small fragments of each aircraft were located to confirm the locations.
The cockpit area of one of the aircraft following the accident and probably not the same aircraft as shown in the colour photograph of the complete aircraft.
The following series of remarkable photographs were taken the day after the crash by Mr Neil Robins, he also visited the site of where the main part of one aircraft crashed but was told by the authorities that he could not photograph that. I would like to thank him for sending me copies of these photographs and for other details he has been able to give me, without which this webpage would not be as detailed.
A seat from one of the Jet Provosts (photograph credit Neil Robins).
Part of one aircraft, which probably became detached following the collision (photograph credit Neil Robins).
Another part of one aircraft, thought to be the very rear of the jet pipe (photograph credit Neil Robins). This would suggest that one aircraft had indeed crashed into the other from behind.
A second Jet Provost seat (photograph credit Neil Robins).
This is thought to be the third seat (photograph credit Neil Robins). The fourth seat was unoccupied at the time and was missing for a time after the crash.
Jet Provost XW407 was built by B.A.C. at Luton to contract KC/E/124. It's first flight was in July 1971 and it was ready and awaiting collection at Luton on 5th August 1971 when it was alloted to 3 FTS at Leeming on 9th August 1971 and coded "-50". It was placed in storage at Leeming without a code on 3rd January 1975 and later loaned to 1 FTS at Linton-on-Ouse and flown uncoded from April 1975. It went to BAe for conversion to a T5A on 13th October 1975 and was delivered to 3 FTS at Leeming on 21st January 1976 and was again placed into storage. It was transferred to 5 MU at Kemble on 11th February 1976 before being issued to 3 FTS at Leeming on 7th March 1979 where it was coded "-47". It was transferred to 7 FTS at Church Fenton on 31st May 1979 and coded "-58" and later recoded "-122" in October 1979. Following the incident detailed above Cat.5(s)FA damage was recorded and the aircraft was written off. The photograph at the top of this page shows XW407.