DHC-1 Chipmunk G-AMUG near Yedingham.
Chipmunk G-AMUG took off from the old Middleton St.George / Durham Tees Valley airport, on the 29th May 1974 with only a pilot on board. It was also his birthday. He flew south-east across the North Yorkshire Moors and landed at the Wombleton aerodrome and picked up a passenger who lived locally. The pilot then took off again and aerobatics were then being practiced over the Vale of Pickering. During this, the aircraft went into a spin which the pilot was unable to recover from and the aircraft crashed at Derwent Farm, Yedingham. The pilot was sadly killed. The passenger, who was in the rear of the cockpit, sustained serious injuries and was taken to Scarborough Hospital, he survived.
Pilot - Mr Jeffrey Garnett, aged 37, of Northallerton, North Yorkshire. Burial location unknown.
Passenger - Mr Harry Pears. Injured.
Jeffrey Garnett was born in 1937 and lived at Pillrigg Farm, a couple of miles east of Northallerton. He was married with children. His funeral was held at Northallerton
Newspaper reports that recorded this incident stated that Harry Pears was a 51 years old retired wartime RAF pilot who had previously flown Spitfires. He ran the Post office at Nawton, near Helmsley at the time of the accident. Across various newspapers the spelling of his name varied, around Pearce, Pearse and Pears. Given that both Jeffrey Garnett and Harry Pears are listed as being co-owners of this aircraft I would suggest that "Pears" is the correct spelling.