Date:	Saturday 27 August 1955
Time:	15:55
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 8
Owner/operator:	19 Sqn RAF
Registration:	WH249
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Whorlton Moor, NE of Osmotherly, North Yorkshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Test
Departure airport:	RAF Church Fenton, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:	RAF Church Fenton, North Yorkshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Meteor WH249 was built to contract 6/ACFT/5621 by the Gloster Aircraft Company Ltd and was delivered to the RAF on 3rd September 1951. After acceptance it was issued to 19 Squadron at Church Fenton. For a period the aircraft was transferred to DFLS (Day Fighter Leaders School) at West Raynham before returning to 19 Squadron at Church Fenton.

This aircraft flew into high ground just before 16.00hrs on Whorlton Moor, North East of Osmotherly, North Yorkshire, on 27th August 1955 having taken off only ten minutes previously from Church Fenton airfield, the pilot was to have undertaken an airtest of the aircraft. The North Yorkshire Moors had cloud covering the area on this day and the pilot could not see the rising ground he was flying towards, he was killed in the crash.

Helicopters of 275 Squadron based at Thornaby were prevented from searching for the missing aircraft on the day of the crash due to low cloud but the following day a party on foot located the site. Wreckage was scattered over a wide area. Newspaper reports on the incident stated that the aircraft was identified by part of a wing and the ejection seat, both of which had the aircraft's serial number printed on them and the pilot was later identified by a watch found at the scene engraved with his name.

Crew of Meteor WH249:
Flying Officer Peter Charles Kenrick RAF (Pilot, Service Number 2224186), aged 28, of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Buried Kirkby Wharfe Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Small pieces of the wreckage of Meteor WH249 was still to be found at the crash site was recently as December 2014

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.173 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 49)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.152
4. http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/planes/46-50/wh249.html
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WH
6. https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/local/whorlton-moor-hambleton

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
10-Jun-2008 02:23	JINX	Added
19-Jun-2008 08:48	JINX	Updated
13-May-2015 08:43	Boile A.	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
26-May-2020 23:55	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]