Piper PA-23-250 Aztec G-ASTE at Yeadon.

During the afternoon of Monday, 20th January 1969 this aircraft was chartered to fly from Filton airfield at Bristol to Yeadon with a pilot and five ICI executives on board who were due to attend a weekly conference at the ICI Fibres Research Centre in Harrogate. They were leading figures in the ICI Fibres division of the ICI company at the time and all lived in South Wales. They probably had earlier flown from Pontypool to Filton in this aircraft, which was probably then refuelled took off from Filton at around 16.45hrs. At 18.00hrs the aircraft arrived in the landing circuit at Yeadon but the weather at the time was poor, with rain and low cloud affecting visibility. While the pilot attempted a landing the aircraft was actually fifteen metres to right of centre line and he failed to see the runway. He tried to fly an overshoot but several trees still existed on the southwest side of the airfield site which the aircraft flew into. Several of these trees were next to the boundary wall of Yeadon Cemetery and it was into this that the aircraft then crashed. The pilot crawled out of the remains of the cockpit and managed to thumb a lift in a lorry travelling on the main road next to the cemetery back to the airfield site for assistance. The pilot escaped serious injury but two of the five passengers sustained major injuries and they died later in hospital at Bradford.

This aircraft was owned by Northair Aviation Ltd, based at Yeadon / Leeds Bradford. It was operated as "Northern Air Taxis" and flew regular flights between Filton and Yeadon for the ICI company.

Pilot - Captain Peter Bell. Injured.

Passsenger - Mr Harry W Peters. Injured.

Passenger - Mr Alan Ridehalgh. Aged c38. Died of injuries. Burial location unknown.

Passenger - Mr Bernard Roberts. Aged c41. Died of injuries. Burial location unknown.

Passenger - Mrs Jill S Hunt. Injured.

Passenger - Mr Christopher J Bateson. Injured.