| 09/01/1989 | XT908 | CW | Phantom FGR2 | 228 OCU | The pilot became unwell during practice intercepts with another Phantom and elected to return to base at Leuchars. He became worse and lost control of the aircraft. The navigator ejected but the pilot was killed when the aircraft crashed into the North Sea, 52 miles east of Dundee, Tayside |
| 13/01/1989 | ZD891 | BB | Tornado GR1 | 14 Sqn | The Tornado collided with the Alphajet which was part of a four ship formation which were inbound to attack Wittmund air base West Germany. The cockpit of the Tornado cut through the Alphajet and it crashed at Wiesmoor killing both crew. The WGAF pilot ejected and his aircraft crashed nearby |
| 13/01/1989 | 40+87 | Alphajet | JbG-43 | ||
| 08/03/1989 | XN547 | 48 | Jet Provost T3A | 1 FTS | Crashed near Malton, North Yorkshire after loss of control in an inverted spin during aerobatics at 9,000ft. The pilot ejected safely at 5,000ft |
| 28/03/1989 | XZ999 | H | Harrier GR3 | 4 Sqn | Crash-landed at Bruggen, West Germany after the nosewheel collapsed during a touch and go. Due to the impending withdrawal of the GR3 from service it was not repaired |
| 13/04/1989 | XZ359 | M | Jaguar GR1A | 41 Sqn | Flew into 500ft high fog shrouded cliffs 100ft below the summit above Lumsdaine Beach 1½ miles NW of St. Abbs Head, Berwickshire while descending to low level through cloud. The pilot made no attempt to eject and was killed |
| 24/04/1989 | XT893 | W | Phantom FGR2 | 56 Sqn | After refuelling from a TriStar the senior pilot demonstrated to the first tour pilot the airflow effects over the wings at maximum AOA. The aircraft entered a right hand roll which developed into a spin from which the crew could not recover. Both crew ejected at 15,000 ft and it crashed into the North Sea approximately 45 miles east of Flamborough Head, Yorkshire. The failure to complete trim and balance checks after refuelling was a contributory cause |
| 25/04/1989 | XX517 | S | Bulldog T1 | 1 FTS | Crashed at Great Langton, Yorkshire when the pilot baled out after becoming disorientated in cloud and losing control of the aircraft |
| 08/05/1989 | XX489 | CU-575 | Jetstream T2 | 750 NAS | Crashed into Portland Harbour, Dorset after stalling during a wing over manoeuvre during an air display at Portland, Dorset. Both crew were killed. The pilot had omitted to re-advance the pitch control levers |
| 14/05/1989 | XZ244 | 343 | Lynx HAS3GM | 829 NAS HMS Brilliant Flt | Crashed into the bush at Vipingo, eighteen miles from Mombasa, Kenya and exploded. It was en-route from the ship to Mombasa when the port cabin door was opened. Two ball bearings were missing from the top rail causing the door to detach. It struck the tail rotor causing the tail rotor shaft to shear off, the tail rotor pylon then broke off. All eleven on board were killed |
| 10/06/1989 | TF956 | T-123 | Sea Fury FB11 | FAA Historic Flt | Crashed into the Firth of Clyde off Turnberry Point, Ayrshire after the starboard undercarriage leg failed to lower following a display at Prestwick Air Show. The pilot baled out safely at 6,000ft and was rescued by a Sea King from Prestwick |
| 14/06/1989 | XX182 | Hawk T1 | 4 FTS | During a three aircraft rejoin manoeuvre the No 2 collided at 10,000 feet over Borth, Dyfed with the No 3. One aircraft crashed near Machynlleth, the other near Clarach, Powys. One pilot was killed the other ejected safely | |
| 14/06/1989 | XX291 | Hawk T1 | 4 FTS | ||
| 20/06/1989 | XW925 | Harrier T4 | 4 Sqn | The pilot had overshot the landing pad at Gutersloh, West Germany and repositioned at 60 ft. Due to low fuel the approach speed was too high and he overshot again. He accelerated away slowly and the aircraft began to sink. The nose rose and the right wing dropped. Both crew ejected but the pilot hit the ground still in his seat and was killed. The aircraft flew nose down into the perimeter fence and cartwheeled onto the bank of the river Ems | |
| 20/07/1989 | ZA468 | EN | Tornado GR1 | 15 Sqn | After take off from Laarbruch, West Germany for a ferry flight to St. Athan the nose wheel failed to retract. The pilot reduced power so as not to exceed airspeed with the wheel down but inadvertently selected idle. He selected full power and then reheat but the engines failed to respond. The crew ejected at 230 ft and the aircraft crashed near Bergen, Netherlands |
| 21/07/1989 | ZE833 | EC | Tornado F3 | 23 Sqn | During a 2 v 2 intercept over the North Sea the aircraft entered a steady decent from 4,000 ft. At 400 ft the navigator shouted a warning but the aircraft struck the water in a nose up attitude 30 miles NE of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and exploded. Both crew ejected as it hit the water but the pilot suffered severe head injuries which rendered him unconscious and he drowned. The navigator was rescued by a Sea King after 40 minutes in the water |
| 24/07/1989 | ZA678 | EZ | Chinook HC1 | 7 Sqn | The aircraft was on an airtest at Odiham, Hants after minor servicing. While in a hover a transmission warning light flickered. The pilot abandoned the airtest and began to hover taxi back to dispersal After a second flicker of the light the pilot initiated a running landing. There was a loud bang and the aircraft ground looped. The front rotor head, transmission and pylon broke away tearing off the cockpit roof. The rear pylon was bent at right angles. All seven on board managed to escape. Allocated to ground instruction as 9229M. The aft drive transmission input thrust bearing had been incorrectly fitted and failed. This led to de-synchronisation of the rotor systems and subsequent collision of the rotors |
| 25/07/1989 | ZA717 | C | Chinook HC1 | 78 Sqn | While in a hover in the Falklands during an airtest following servicing a transmission low oil pressure light illuminated. Before the pilot could land there was a load bang in the rear of the aircraft and the rotors collided. The aircraft struck the ground and rolled over. The occupants escaped safely. Due to this incident and the one on 24th July, all Chinook flying was suspended while gearbox checks were carried out. The cause was the same as ZA678 and was due to the alignment arrows on the thrust bearing being fitted the wrong way round during manufacture. Allocated to ground instruction at Cranwell as 9238M |
| 01/08/1989 | ZE377 | Lynx AH7 | 657 Sqn | The pilot lost control of the aircraft after taking avoiding action to miss a tree on Stanford PTA near Bodney, Norfolk. It struck the ground heavily then lifted off in a steep nose up attitude. It then struck the ground again, rolled onto its port side and caught fire. Four of the seven occupants were killed | |
| 10/09/1989 | XZ561 | Venture T1 | 632 VGS | Declared a write off after landing short of the runway at Ternhill, Shropshire | |
| 13/09/1989 | XP910 | Scout AH1 | 658 Sqn | Immediately after take off from Netheravon, Wiltshire for an abseiling sortie the nose pitched up and the tail rotor struck the ground. The nose then pitched down and the aircraft rotated into the ground. The three abseilers and the pilot were uninjured. Caused by the failure of the port cyclic servo jack. To Wroughton store until being allocated to ground instruction at Middle Wallop | |
| 14/09/1989 | ZD710 | BJ | Tornado GR1 | 14 Sqn | Departure from Abingdon after participating in the air show had been delayed. The navigator had arranged for the airfield to remain open and for bird control to be carried out by service personal as the civilian team had been stood down. In the event only birds visible from the tower were cleared. As the aircraft left the runway it flew into a ‘white wall’ of gulls that rose up in front of it. The left engine failed completely and the right one did not respond to power inputs. Both crew ejected safely the aircraft crashing near Drayton, Oxfordshire |
| 20/09/1989 | XX192 | Hawk T1A | 1 TWU/79 Sqn | Shortly after take off from Brawdy, Dyfed the pilot reported a low oil pressure warning light. He returned to base but lost control of the aircraft on final approach. It crashed into a field 300 meters short of the runway killing both crew. It transpired that the warning light had given a false indication | |
| 04/10/1989 | ZA191 | 004 | Sea Harrier FRS1 | 801 NAS | Collided with a mast on HMS Ark Royal damaging a wing. The pilot ejected and it crashed 10 miles off Lyme Regis, Dorset |
| 27/10/1989 | XZ582 | N-264 | Sea King HAS5 | 814 NAS | Ditched into the Atlantic Ocean off Bermuda, capsized and sank after loss of the main gearbox oil while operating off HMS Invincible. The crew were rescued safely and the helicopter was not recovered |
| 01/12/1989 | XZ451 | 005 | Sea Harrier FRS1 | 801 NAS | The pilot was unable to pull the aircraft out of a 10° dive after the controls jammed. He ejected and the aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off Sardinia. Caused by the failure of the forward Reaction Control Valve seal diaphragm |
| 23/12/1989 | XZ550 | Venture T1 | 642 VGS | Damaged in a heavy landing at Linton On Ouse, Yorkshire. Although repairable it was given to the RAFGSA, to G-BDTA |
