Piper Cherokee G-AVYN.
At 12.33hrs on 23rd September 1969 this aircraft took off from Newcastle airport to fly to Leeds-Bradford Airport with a student pilot flying solo, he was then due to make the return flight to Newcastle. The aircraft landed at Leeds Bradford airport at 13.25hrs having had to reduce height because of low cloud in the Leeds area. Had the pilot completed the return flight he would have gained his Private Pilot Licence. After over an hour on the ground at Leeds Bradford he took off at 14.42hrs but the weather by this time had deteriorated and it would appear from consulting the accident report that the pilot was struggling to locate his position soon after taking off. At 15.03hrs to attempted to make contact with Leeming airfield to get his position. Witnesses in a wide area of Nidderdale heard an aircraft fly over them in cloud around the time the aircraft was possibly in the area and it seemed likely that after becoming lost the pilot had attempted to return to Leeds Bradford airport because of the poor weather but had flown west and into high ground while lost. With the aircraft reported as overdue at Newcastle a search was arranged. Four Shackletons, two Canberras, four Beavers and several helicopters were used in the search but it would be a couple of days before the remains of the aircraft were located following an air search in a Varsity aircraft from RAF Cranwell. The wreckage of the Piper Cherokee was located on Gouthwaite Moor at Ashfold Gill Head, in the Yorkshire Dales. A ground search team made their way to the site and located and recovered the pilot's body with assistance from a military helicopter from RAF Leconfield. The investigation into the accient concluded that the pilot's inexperience in continuing his flight in deteriorating weather was the major factor into the crash and that inadequate supervision of his pre-flight planning was a factor as there was little supervision of his return leg of the flight plan before take off.
Pilot - Mr Anthony Peter Teare, aged 22, of Gosforth, Newcastle. Buried St.Andrew's Cemetery, Jesmond, Newcastle.
The pilot was married with a ten month old son and at the time of his death he was a Police Constable. He was awarded a Queens Award for Bravery for climbing Newcastle's Tyne Bridge on 3rd June 1967 and talking a man down to safety some time before the accident. Just prior to his death he was involved in two road accidents, the first he was knocked down whilst on point duty, the second he suffered serious injuries being in another vehicle crash. He was still on sick leave from this when he died in the aeroplane crash. I thank his son for contacting me in 2008 and for the information he was kind enough to provide this account.
My wife and I visited the site in August 2005.
