Pearce was a member of the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, based out of Lee-on-the-Solent, in an air-sea rescue squadron.

Pearce was reponsible for the test flight of the last Supermarine Sea Otter plane that the squadron recieved, replacing the Supermarine Walrus. He took the plane up and a connecting rod in the engine broke on take-off, leading to a headlong crash into the shingle bank between the runway and the Solent. The engine came lose and fell on the cabin, where Pearce was sat. He was pulled from the wreckage by a Naval Surgeon, and taken to Royal Hospital Haslar where he remained unconscious for six weeks.