Date:	Sunday 20 March 1955
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor T Mk 7
Owner/operator:	604 (County of Middlesex) Sqn RAF
Registration:	WA670
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Martin Mill Station, 3 miles north east of Dover, Kent, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF North Weald, Essex
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor T.Mk.8 WA670: Delivered 30/3/50. RAF service career was with 56 Squadron, 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron, and then delivered 11/2/55 ex-38 MU RAF Langar to RAF North Weald for service with 604 (County of Middlesex) Squadron.

Written off (destroyed) 20/3/55: The hood became detached in flight, and the aircraft became uncontrollable. As a result, both the pilot - Pilot Officer Brian Cross and his AC.2 passenger - abandoned the aircraft and bailed out successfully. They both parachuted to earth, having sustained only minor injuries, but the Meteor was destroyed when it dived into the ground at Martin Mill Station, 3 miles North East of Dover, Kent

According to a published account of the incident ("If You Want Peace, Prepare for War: A History of No.604 (County of Middlesex) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force" by Ian White [pp. 252-253] - see link #5):

"The year [1955] got off to a reasonable start for 604 Squadron with no untoward incidents until March, when Pilot Officer Cross was once again forced to abandon his Meteor, this time a T.7, accompanied by his airman passenger, when the hood became detached at 5,000 feet (1,525 metres) over the English Channel. Both parachuted to safety (the Meteor T.7 was not fitted with ejection seats) in the vicinity of Dover, where they were rescued after sustaining minimal injuries."

It should be noted that the reference "once again" is used, because Pilot Officer Briain Cross is the same person who had previously "departed in mid flight" from Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8 WH408 on 5/12/54, four miles off Shoeburyness, Essex (which see)

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.169 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985 p.11)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.124
4. 604 (County of Middlesex) Squadron RAF Operational Record Book (ORB)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/55 to 28/2/57: File AIR 27/2712/3 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8428067
5. If You Want Peace, Prepare for War: A History of No.604 (County of Middlesex) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force by Ian White [pp. 252-253]
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WA
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Mill_railway_station .

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
31-May-2008 07:09	JINX	Added
05-Jun-2008 15:34	JINX	Updated
10-Jan-2012 14:35	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Total occupants, Source]
25-Apr-2020 00:05	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Source]
09-May-2020 22:57	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Total occupants, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
09-May-2020 22:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
09-May-2020 23:18	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
10-May-2020 00:04	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
12-May-2020 19:57	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
28-Jun-2023 09:56	Nepa	Updated [[Source, Narrative]]