Date:	Saturday 19 September 1953
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 8
Owner/operator:	56 (Punjab) Sqn RAF
Registration:	WA927
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Wyton, Huntingdonshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Demo/Airshow/Display
Departure airport:	RAF Wyton, Huntingdonshire
Destination airport:	RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8 WA927, 56 (Punjab) Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) 19/9/53, when crashed at RAF Wyton, Huntingdonshire during a Battle of Britain Air Display. Pilot killed

The pilot had flown from RAF Waterbeach to RAF Wyton to give a display, and then flew on to RAF Cardington for a further display, prior to returning to RAF Wyton to land. On inspection after landing a number of rivets were found to be missing from the fuel tank bay skin but the pilot judged that the aircraft was still safe enough to take off and return to base

After take off the Meteor performed a low level high speed run across the airfield at 500 feet and 450 knots, at the end of which, the aircraft pulled up sharply into a steep climb. The aircraft was then seen to break up in flight, both wings came off, and pieces of wreckage were scattered across the airfield at RAF Wyton. It was possible that the missing rivets were symptomatic of a more serious (but not obvious) structural damage. The pilot was killed

Pilot of Meteor WA927
Sergeant Pilot Patrick Russell Ward, RAF (pilot, aged 21) - killed in service 19/9/1953

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.150 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 Colin Cummings p 413
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985)
4. "Two Pilots killed in Air Displays – Accidents to Meteors". The Times (52732). London. September 21, 1953. p. 3.
5. 56 Squadron ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/1951 to 31/12/1955: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2620/1 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8424700
6. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/176: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424297
7. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/32/S2657: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578503
8. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WA
9. https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/79185-airshow-related-accidents
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_air_show_accidents_and_incidents_in_the_20th_century#1953

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
31-May-2008 20:03	JINX	Added
06-Jun-2008 22:15	JINX	Updated
06-Mar-2010 23:11	angels one five	Updated [Location, Nature, Source, Narrative]
15-Jan-2012 15:03	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
06-Jan-2020 22:29	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
17-May-2021 13:41	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
17-May-2021 13:43	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]