Date:	Friday 8 November 1946
Time:
Type:	de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito NF Mk 30
Owner/operator:	54 OTU RAF
Registration:	NT266
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Pockley Moor, 5 miles north of Helmsley, North Yorkshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Mosquito NT266: Took off at 11:00 hrs for a daylight training flight. 08/11/1946
During the flight, which saw them fly over the North Yorkshire Moors, the aircraft entered heavy cloud and the pilot lost control in cloud. The aircraft dived into the ground at high speed on Pockley Moor, five miles to the north of Helmsley, North and exploded leaving a large crater. Although never proven because of the destruction of the aircraft it was strongly suspected that the effect of icing had occurred on the aircraft's control surfaces and the pilot's ability to keep control of the aircraft was greatly reduced.
This icing effect also altered the aerodynamics of the wings of aircraft and often resulted in them entering an uncontrolled dive under certain cloud conditions.
The reasons for the crash are unknown. The aircraft was seen to enter thick cloud and then dived “head-on into the hill known as Pockley Moor with engines revving loudly.” (Earl, 1995) “strongly suspects” icing on the control surfaces would cause the pilot to lose control, while Earl suggests a downdraft or some structural problem with the aircraft. The aircraft nose-dived into the ground; “what was left in a deep, smouldering crater was more or less totally destroyed in the ensuing fire.
Crew:
S/Ldr (33404) Noel Dan HALLIFAX (pilot) RAF - killed
F/O (194286) Roy Edward CHATER (nav. u/t) RAFVR - killed

1. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH98%20prodn%20list.txtt
2. ORB 54 OTU RAF: AIR29/682
3. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7161027
4. Hell on High Ground, David W Earl, 1995
5. Halley, James Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents.
6. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings
7. http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/planes/46-50/nt266.html
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2623680/hallifax,-noel-dan/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2435465/chater,-roy-edward/
10. https://aircrashsites.co.uk/post-war-crash-sites/nt266/
11. https://peakwreckhunters.blogspot.com/2010/07/de-havilland-mosquito-nfmk30-nt266.html
12. https://www.roll-of-honour.com/Sussex/Mayfield.html
13. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/awards/details.php?qname=HALLIFAX&qnum=33404
14. https://www.rememberthefallen.co.uk/casualty/hallifax-noel-dan/
15. https://www.twgpp.org/photograph/view/3418029
16. National Archives (PRO Kew) File WO416/158/380: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16914277
15. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60116043/roy-edward-chater
16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmsley

CWGC Grave Marker of Sqn Ldr Noel Dan Hallifax at Stonefall Cemetery, Harrogate, Yorkshire 1-9-2007

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
01-Feb-2010 10:23	NePa	Added
06-Feb-2012 08:11	Nepa	Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
18-Jun-2014 17:40	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Departure airport, Narrative]
17-Sep-2014 20:05	Don Diego	Updated [Location]
05-Aug-2015 17:52	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Narrative]
30-Mar-2019 20:53	Nepa	Updated [Location, Narrative, Operator]
18-Nov-2019 02:10	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
18-Nov-2019 11:07	Nepa	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Operator]
07-Jul-2021 10:19	Anon.	Updated [Time, Location, Operator]
17-Aug-2021 09:10	Next	Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative, Operator]
28-Nov-2021 10:06	Nepa	Updated [Narrative, Operator]
26-May-2023 19:45	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Narrative, Operator]]
27-May-2023 18:10	Nepa	Updated [[[Narrative, Operator]]]