Date:	Monday 22 December 1947
Time:	15:10 LT
Type:	de Havilland DH.103 Hornet F Mk 1
Owner/operator:	64 Sqn RAF
Registration:	PX274
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Stacksteads, near Bacup, Lancashire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Linton on Ouse, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:	RAF Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire

Narrative:
De Havilland Hornet PX274/'SH-G' took off from No. 64 Squadron's base at RAF Linton-on-Ouse at approx. 14:20 hours on 22nd December 1947 for a Local Instrument Flying exercise in cloud. Some 50 minutes later the pilot is thought to have become uncertain of his position and began to descend, unaware that he was over high ground.

At 15:10 hours the aircraft exploded, as struck a hillside only some 100 yards from farm buildings above Stacksteads near Bacup, Lancashire – Later, icing of the windscreen was stated as a probable contributory factor in this accident. The aircraft impacted on an area of sloping high ground at high speed and at a relatively shallow angle causing total disintegration of the machine over a wide area. The only parts of the aircraft to actually penetrate the surface of the ground were the two engines, which even then were only partially buried, due to the angle of impact and the nature of the ground, which has only a thin layer of topsoil over loose stone and then bedrock at only three to four feet in depth below the surface.

The majority of the aircraft was reduced to small scraps, which were spread over some two fields ahead of the impact point. The emergency services were quickly on the scene and the area was sealed off, but personal effects and scraps of uniform amongst the scattered fragments showed that the pilot was beyond their help.

The Manchester Evening News of December 27th 1947 reported that the Hornet crashed 20 feet below the summit of a 1045 foot hill top at Rossendale after suffering an engine failure. A verdict of Accidental death was recorded by the coroner.

Nottingham Journal of December 23rd 1947, reported that the Hornet crashed on a hillside at Stacksteads, Bacup, Lancashire after skimming nearby rooftops, and crashing into a wall before exploding.

Crew of DH Hornet PX274:
Pilot II (634505) Ronald FEASBY (pilot, aged 29) RAF - killed on active service 22 December 1947, and buried at Eston Cemetery, Yorkshire, Section P. grave 67

Born in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire in Jun 1918 to John Thomas Feasby and Alice M Walker. Ronald Feasby passed away on 22 December 1947 in Haslingden, Lancashire, England.

Stacksteads is a village between the towns of Bacup and Waterfoot within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England (hence his death certificate gives the official place of death as "Haslingden".

1. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH103%20prodn%20list.txt
2. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. Final Landings - A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat losses 1946-1949 by Colin Cummings p.357
5. Manchester Evening News of December 27th 1947
6. Nottingham Journal of December 23rd 1947
7. 64 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-6-1946 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2427/37: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8420252
8. https://laituk.org/Hornet%20PX274.htm
9. https://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?25156-471222-Unaccounted-Airmen-22-12-1947&highlight=FEASBY&p=145489#post145489
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2407832/ronald-feasby/
11. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/genealogy/records/ronald-feasby-24-8rh3fb
12. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155891751/ronald-feasby
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._64_Squadron_RAF#1940_to_1967
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Linton-on-Ouse#History
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacksteads

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
15-Jun-2018 07:55	Nepa	Added
04-May-2023 21:05	Dr. John Smith	Updated