This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can
submit corrected information.
Date: | Friday 11 October 1957 |
Time: | day |
Type: | Gloster Meteor F Mk 8 |
Owner/operator: | 5 CAACU RAF |
Registration: | WA794 |
MSN: | |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Gwaith Mawr, Eifl Granite Quarry, near Trefor, Anglesey, Wales -
United Kingdom
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Training |
Departure airport: | RAF Llanbedr, Llanbedr, Gwynedd |
Destination airport: | RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales (VLY/EGOV) |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:Gloster Meteor WA794: Delivered 19/2/1951. Operational Service career was with 43 Squadron, RAF Leuchars (coded "X"), 72 Squadron, RAF Church Fenton from 13/4/1955 and 5 CAACU (Civilian Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit) RAF Valley, Anglesey.
Written off (destroyed) 11/10/1957: Crashed into the rock face of the Eifl Granite Quarry at Trefor, Anglesey, North Wales killing the pilot. The pilot took off from RAF Llanbedr, Llanbedr, Gwyneddto carry out low-level trials, but the weather was marginal, and the pilot did not climb the aircraft to a minimum safety height. Instead he attempted to fly visually (using VFR Visual Flight Rules) through the mountain ranges of North Wales. The lead to a tragic end for the pilot, when he flew into the rock face of a quarry at Gwaith Mawr at approximate coordinates 52:59.0397 N 4:26.4591 W
Crew of Meteor WA794:
Sergeant Robert B Barnes, RAFVR (pilot, aged 41) - killed on active service 11/10/1957
There appears to be some doubt as to the status of the pilot: some sources list him as an RAF Sergeant Pilot, and others as a Civilian Pilot. His name does not appear on the Roll of Honour at the RAF Church of St. Clement Danes in London, and it is therefore presumed (but not confirmed) that he was not a serving member of the RAF Volunteer Reserves at the time of his death. On the other hand there is as yet not evidence that he was flying Meteor WA794 as a civilian pilot operating under contract
Sources:
1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.193 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 15)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.267
4. The Fighting Cocks: 43 (Fighter) Squadron p.325 By Jimmy Beedle
5.
http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1957.htm 6.
https://peakwreckhunters.blogspot.com/2009/02/meteor.html 7.
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/701491 8.
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/20144 9.
http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WA .
Media:
The upper gallery of Gwaith Mawr (the Eifl Granite Quarry) Work ended on this the upper terrace of the quarry in October 1957 following the death of the pilot of the Gloster Meteor WA794 from RAE Llanbedr which flew into the rockface in low cloud. The terrace has since been invaded by heather.
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
31-May-2008 13:26 |
JINX |
Added |
12-May-2015 07:51 |
Yety |
Updated [Aircraft type, Operator] |
11-Aug-2020 14:17 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
11-Aug-2020 14:18 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative] |
11-Aug-2020 14:18 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Source] |
11-Aug-2020 15:32 |
Yety |
Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Nature, Operator] |