| 25/01/1979 | XN236 | Cadet TX3 | 662 VGS | Written off in a heavy landing after a low level launch failure at Dyce, Aberdeen | |
| 03/02/1979 | XT441 | 337 | Wasp HAS1 | 829 NAS HMS Sheffield Flt | Ten minutes after take off from the ship off Gibraltar at night a bright glow emanated from the engine area with a strong smell of burning. A controlled ditching in the Mediterranean severed the tail boom. The two crew were rescued. To the AIU at Lee-on-Solent then to Wroughton as A2703. Ended its days at Predannack Fire School |
| 08/02/1979 | XR604 | Scout AH1 | 7 Regt | Prior to take off from Hereford, Herefordshire the pilot inadvertently operated the fuel shut off cock instead of the cabin heater. The engine failed at 800ft and the aircraft overturned during the subsequent forced landing in a school playing field. The pilot was slightly injured | |
| 28/02/1979 | XV578 | F | Phantom FG1 | 111 Sqn | Crashed into the North Sea off Montrose, Tayside after the crew ejected following engine failure |
| 02/03/1979 | XS150 | CU-524 | Wessex HAS1 | 771 NAS | Written off after falling off a jack while under maintenance, possibly at Culdrose. Allocated to Lee-on-Solent for ground instruction |
| 03/03/1979 | XT465 | VU | Wessex HU5 | 846 NAS | Flew into power cables across a fjord near Andoya, Norway. The tail section detached and it crashed inverted killing two of the crew. The third member died later of his injuries |
| 14/03/1979 | XJ637 | O | Hunter FGA9 | 1 TWU | Crashed near Aberystwyth, Dyfed after the pilot ejected due to engine failure |
| 26/03/1979 | XX147 | BY | Jaguar T2 | 17 Sqn | Crashed at Sudlahn, West Germany after suffering a bird strike while at 250ft which entered the cockpit. The crew had initially attempted to recover the aircraft but ejected when speed began to decay. This had been due to the airbrakes being extended |
| 28/03/1979 | XN585 | 12 | Jet Provost T3A | 1 FTS | The crew ejected shortly after take off from Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire after a spurious fire warning |
| 19/04/1979 | XR500 | A | Wessex HC2 | 28 Sqn | Crashed into Hong Kong harbour during winching practice in fog. Allocated to Sek Kong fire dump |
| 22/05/1979 | XP539 | Gnat T1 | Red Arrows | Crashed at Leeming, Yorkshire after the engine cut due to a fuel blockage. The crew ejected safely | |
| 25/05/1979 | XX459 | Gazelle AH1 | 669 Sqn | Despite taking avoiding action the aircraft struck a power cable near Bispingen, West Germany during Exercise ‘Red Hackle’ It struck the ground and bounced onto its port side. The two crew escaped safely | |
| 25/05/1979 | XS931 | D | Lightning F6 | 5 Sqn | Crashed into the North Sea off Hornsea, Humberside after the pilot ejected due to the controls jamming shortly after take off from Binbrook |
| 07/06/1979 | XP805 | Beaver AL1 | BATUS | Crashed near Banff, Alberta, Canada after completing a turn and then losing height possibly due to turbulent conditions. The tail section struck trees which pitched the nose down causing the starboard wing to strike the trees. Two of the four occupants received major injuries | |
| 12/06/1979 | XV781 | O | Harrier GR3 | 3 Sqn | Crashed on approach to Gutersloh, West Germany after the pilot ejected following an engine fire |
| 12/06/1979 | XX950 | Tornado | BAe | The aircraft was simulating high loft attack manoeuvres over the Irish Sea. It struck the water in a shallow dive 44 miles off Blackpool after descending too low in mist while preparing for another loft run in. Both crew were killed | |
| 22/06/1979 | XX142 | G | Jaguar T2 | 226 OCU | The pilot had been asked to fly inverted to check for a loose article. This was done first at 1,500ft and then at 1,000ft. On the second attempt the nose dropped due the application of positive ‘g’ and rudder and it flew into the Moray Firth ten miles north of Lossiemouth, Grampian killing both crew. The laid down minimum height for a loose article check is 5,000ft |
| 22/06/1979 | WH589 | Sea Fury FB11 | Private | Crashed shortly after take off on a test flight in West Germany | |
| 03/07/1979 | XW371 | 59 | Jet Provost T5A | 7 FTS | Crashed ten miles east of Lancaster during a low level navex in bad weather. The pilot was killed. |
| 03/07/1979 | XK140 | N | Hunter FGA9 | 2 TWU | The Ecuadorian pilot ejected over the Sea off Lochives, Scotland after loss of control while in cloud. This was the second aircraft lost while being flown by an Ecuadorian pilot (see 1st November 1978) and they were subsequently not allowed to fly solo again in British aircraft |
| 05/07/1979 | XZ189 | Lynx AH1 | 1 Regt | During refitting of the Automatic Flight Control System computer a cable was not connected correctly and made contact with, but pushed back, the Pitch Control pin. During the transition from hover on take off from Hildesheim, West Germany contact was broken. The computer detected a pitch error and compensated. In doing so, contact was re-established then broken again. This 'Pitch Runaway' cycle repeated, each time more violent, and the helicopter lurched towards a hangar door. The main rotors struck the doors and turned back on themselves striking and killing the pilot. The other crew member died from his injuries | |
| 06/07/1979 | XG197 | 26 | Hunter F6A | 1 TWU | Crashed into the village of Tintagel, Cornwall after the pilot ejected over the sea following engine failure |
| 12/07/1979 | XW526 | Y | Buccaneer S2B | 16 Sqn | Suffered structural failure of a wing and crashed near Osnabruck, West Germany killing both crew |
| 18/07/1979 | XX960 | AY | Jaguar GR1 | 14 Sqn | Struck a TV mast and crashed at Iserlohn, West Germany while attempting to rejoin his formation. The pilot ejected safely |
| 18/07/1979 | XZ137 | E | Harrier GR3 | 4 Sqn | Crashed near Glessen, West Germany killing the American pilot |
| 07/08/1979 | XW842 | Gazelle AH1 | 663 Sqn | Suffered a wire strike at Soltau, West Germany and crashed. | |
| 17/08/1979 | XP737 | N | Lightning F3 | 11 Sqn | Crashed into the Irish Sea off Valley, Anglesey after the pilot ejected due to a jammed undercarriage |
| 24/08/1979 | XZ293 | Gazelle AH1 | 662 Sqn | Suffered a wire strike and crashed at Jerret Pass, near Bessbrook, Armagh, Northern Ireland killing both crew. The wreckage was taken to Middle Wallop and stripped | |
| 26/08/1979 | XR601 | Scout AH1 | BATUS | The main rotor severed the tailboom in a heavy landing at Suffield, Canada after engine failure while in a 50 feet hover. One of the two crew were badly injured. Allocated to ground instruction at Arborfield | |
| 28/08/1979 | XW179 | Sioux AH1 | A&AEE | Damaged in a heavy landing Boscombe Down, Wiltshire. Allocated to A2711 at Wroughton. To the Wessex Aviation Society and used in the rebuild of XT242 (crashed 15/04/1975) | |
| 01/09/1979 | XX458 | Gazelle AH1 | 669 Sqn | The aircraft was carrying out a rising and falling target marking 'Porpoise' manoeuvre during the work up for Exercise Medicine Man on the Soltau training area, West Germany. With a high rate of decent on a hot windless day the skids struck a small rise in otherwise flat area causing the aircraft to disintegrate. The engine and gearbox passed through the cabin area but the three crew were not badly injured | |
| 18/09/1979 | XR723 | A | Lightning F6 | 5 Sqn | After a fire in No2 engine the pilot mistakenly shut down No1 engine. The aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean Sea fifteen miles off Akrotiri, Cyprus and he was rescued by 84 Sqn Whirlwind XP346 after only six minutes in the water |
| 21/09/1979 | XV757 | 12 | Harrier GR3 | 1 Sqn | Both pilots ejected after the aircraft touched wing tips over Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. XV757 crashed onto open ground south of the town but XZ128 crashed onto houses in Wisbech, killing three civilians |
| 21/09/1979 | XZ128 | 15 | Harrier GR3 | 1 Sqn | |
| 04/10/1979 | XW766 | E | Harrier GR3 | 3 Sqn | Crashed in a wood near Ravensberg, West Germany after the pilot ejected due to loss of power following a bird strike |
| 01/11/1979 | XP899 | D | Scout AH1 | ARWS | Damaged when the engine surged during a practice autorotation near Winchester, Hants causing the aircraft to strike the ground heavily. Later declared a write off. The pilot was uninjured |
| 08/11/1979 | XV756 | 26 | Harrier GR3 | 1 Sqn | Crashed on Holbeach Range, Lincs after suffering ricochet damage during firing. The pilot ejected safely |
| 16/11/1979 | XX542 | 13 | Bulldog T1 | RNEFTS | The crew abandoned the aircraft near Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire after loss of control in turbulence |
| 23/11/1979 | XX762 | 28 | Jaguar GR1 | 226 OCU | Encountered bad weather while acting as a chase aircraft. During the ‘pull up’ the pilot ejected, possibly in the belief that the aircraft was about to strike the side of a hill. It crashed on the summit of Beinn-A-Chleibh, near Dalmally, Argyllshire. He was killed after suffering a severe blow to the head |
| 10/12/1979 | XX749 | 21 | Jaguar GR1 | 226 OCU | Collided during a low level four ship formation turn and crashed at Lumsden, Aberdeenshire. The pilot of XX749 ejected but the canopy failed to jettison because the firing link was disconnected in the collision. The seat passed through the canopy severely injuring the pilot, who was also burned due to the fuel tank behind the cockpit exploding. The other pilot did not eject and was killed |
| 10/12/1979 | XX755 | 08 | Jaguar GR1 | 226 OCU | |
| 27/12/1979 | XW228 | DP | Puma HC1 | 230 Sqn | Flew into steel telephone wires at 18ft strung across a road Mtoko, Rhodesia. It crashed and burst into flames killing the three crew members. yThe helicopter was engaged on cease-fire monitoring duties and was operating with two other Pumas from Kotwa |