| 22/01/1988 | XX243 | Hawk T1A | Red Arrows | Crashed onto the airfield at Scampton, Lincs during a low level practice formation display. The pilot was killed | |
| 03/02/1988 | XV652 | 132 | Sea King HAS3 | 826 NAS | Whilst sonar dunking, it ditched into the Mediterranean Sea near Barcelona, Spain while operating off the Dutch Navy support ship MNlMS Poolster. It sank before it could be recovered. The crew escaped safely |
| 02/03/1988 | XX712 | 1 | Bulldog T1 | Manchester UAS | Crashed onto Southport Beach shortly after take off from Woodvale, Merseyside killing the pilot |
| 10/03/1988 | XZ243 | PO-635 | Lynx HAS3 | 702 NAS | Flew into the sea 48 miles off Cabo Roca, Portugal during a night approach to RFA Engadine and ˝ a mile from the ship. Both crew were killed. Recovered and allocated to BDRT at Portland and later to Gosport |
| 30/03/1988 | ZA448 | EB | Tornado GR1 | 15 Sqn | Crashed on the Nellis Ranges in the Nevada Desert, USA during a 'Green Flag' exercise. The pilot had lost control after taking avoiding action due to a SAM contact. Both crew ejected safely 100ft above the ground |
| 11/04/1988 | XR769 | Lightning F6 | 11 Sqn | Crashed into the North Sea five miles off Easington, Humberside after an inflight fire. The RAAF exchange pilot ejected safely. At least twenty four Lightnings have been lost due to inflight fires. This was the last Lightning to be lost in RAF service | |
| 20/04/1988 | XT860 | AL | Phantom FG1 | 43 Sqn | Flew into the North Sea during Combat Air Patrol and while in sea fog during exercise 'Elder Forest', 28 miles east of Leuchars, Fife. Both crew were killed |
| 06/05/1988 | ZA672 | BH | Chinook HC1 | 18 Sqn | On arrival at Hannover, West Germany it was hover taxing to pre-position for the air show. Due to lack of communication and confusion amongst the ground handlers and crew the front rotors struck a gangway pier. The aircraft reared up and the cockpit fell back onto the pier. It caught fire and was totally destroyed. Three crew were killed with one other receiving major injuries. Flying debris damaged aircraft and injured people in the vicinity |
| 10/05/1988 | ZD808 | CJ | Tornado GR1 | 17 Sqn | After completing bounce manoeuvre on another Tornado the aircraft entered a steep diving left turn. The crew appeared to be unaware of the proximity of the ground until it was too late to recover. Both crew were killed when it struck the ground near Berge-Heseke, West Germany |
| 13/05/1988 | XX197 | Hawk T1A | 1 TWU/79 Sqn | Crashed at Newgale on take off for an air test from Brawdy, Dyfed following engine failure due to incorrect rebuild of the engine. Both crew ejected safely | |
| 20/05/1988 | XV809 | F | Harrier GR3 | 3 Sqn | Entered cloud at 800 ft following a steep climbing take off from Gutersloh, West Germany. It emerged from the cloud in a steep dive. The pilot did not eject and was killed when the aircraft struck the ground |
| 30/05/1988 | WF791 | Meteor T7 | CFS | Crashed during a display at Baginton, Coventry killing the pilot. The airbrakes had been left extended during the display causing the aircraft to stall when the undercarriage was lowered. This combination referred to as the ‘Phantom Dive’ has resulted in the loss of many Meteors | |
| 14/06/1988 | WT809 | 867 | Hunter GA11 | FRADU | Crashed at Ilchester, Somerset after the pilot ejected following engine failure while on approach to Yeovilton |
| 24/06/1988 | XX304 | Hawk T1A | Red Arrows | During a formation take off from Scampton, Lincolnshire as Red 4 the pilot raised the undercarriage but the aircraft sank back towards the runway. This was probably due to wake turbulence from the leading aircraft. The pilot pulled up sharply causing the airbrake to strike the runway. The aircraft then skipped into the air then pitched down, scraping the airbrake and ventral tank. The pilot ejected when the aircraft veered off the runway. It came to rest on the grass with the engine still running and a tongue of flame emanating from the jet pipe. | |
| 02/08/1988 | XV501 | BH | Phantom FGR2 | 56 Sqn | The pilot lost control of the aircraft when pulling out of a dive during a practice intercept with a French Mirage F1. The crew ejected and it crashed near Mayenne, France. 56 squadron were detached to Reims at the time |
| 09/08/1988 | ZA329 | B-52 | Tornado GR1 | TTTE | Collided head on at dusk near the village of Blencarn, six miles NNE of Appleby, Cumbria and exploded. All four crew were killed. ZA593 had been part of a two ship formation |
| 09/08/1988 | ZA593 | MF | Tornado GR1 | 617 Sqn | |
| 14/08/1988 | XZ319 | S | Gazelle AH1 | 670 Sqn | The student pilot lost control of the aircraft while in the hover at Middle Wallop, Hants. The main rotors struck the ground and as he pulled back on the cyclic control the rotors struck the tail boom. The aircraft then struck the ground and rolled onto its port side. The pilot was slightly injured |
| 18/08/1988 | XW921 | E | Harrier GR3 | 3 Sqn | Crashed on approach to Gutersloh, West Germany after the pilot ejected due to an engine fire which was probably caused by a fuel leak |
| 22/08/1988 | XP328 | G-BKHC | Whirlwind HAR10 | Civil owned | Crashed on landing at Whatfield, Suffolk |
| 07/09/1988 | XX669 | B | Bulldog T1 | Birmingham UAS | Crashed at Cosford, Shropshire following engine failure during an overshoot from a heavy landing. Allocated to 8997M at Cosford |
| 23/09/1988 | XV428 | CC | Phantom FGR2 | 228 OCU | During aerobatic practice at Abingdon, Oxon the aircraft performed a loop manoeuvre immediately following a 360 hard turn. The manoeuvre appeared slower than normal and the pilot was unable to recover from the loop. The aircraft struck the ground on the airfield tail first in a nose up attitude and exploded killing both crew |
| 13/10/1988 | XZ916 | 130 | Sea King HAS5 | 826 NAS | Crashed into the English Channel ten miles south of the Eddystone Lighthouse off Plymouth, Devon after a night take off from RFA Resource. It sank in 78 meters of water killing two of the four on board. Part of the wreckage was recovered and moved to the AIU at Lee-on-Solent. Large sections of fuselage were later picked up in the nets of a fishing boat |
| 18/10/1988 | XV437 | Y | Phantom FGR2 | 92 Sqn | The right hand engine surged during a practice interception sortie but the pilot inadvertently shut down the left hand engine. He attempted to relight the left engine but the crew ejected when it was considered that they had insufficient height remaining for a recovery. The aircraft crashed near Holzminden, West Germany |
| 13/12/1988 | WK127 | CS | Canberra TT18 | 100 Sqn | Written off after the undercarriage collapsed at Wyton, Cambridgeshire. Allocated to 8985M at Wyton for ground instruction and was coded ‘FO’ |
