Date:	Wednesday 18 February 1953
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 4
Owner/operator:	215 AFS RAF
Registration:	VT133
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Finningley, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Finningley, South Yorkshire
Destination airport:	RAF Finningley, South Yorkshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.Mk.4 VT321, 215 AFS (Advanced Flying School), RAF: delivered 8/4/1948. Service as "4D-J" later "J" of 74 (Tiger) Squadron, RAF Horsham St.Faith, Norwich, Norfolk 1949-51 Thence to 215 AFS, RAF Finningley,

Written off (destroyed) 18/2/53 when crashed at RAF Finningley, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The pilot of Meteor VT133 decided to make a "dummy" approach to RAF Finningley to assess drift due to prevailing crosswinds over the airfield. However, during the approach, the pilot allowed the aircraft to sink too rapidly, and the aircraft struck the ground in the undershoot area of RAF Finningley.

The Meteor then bounced onto the runway at RAF Finningley, at which point the aircraft's undercarriage collapsed, and the airframe caught fire. Although the airfame was written off (damaged beyond economic repair), the pilot appears to have escaped uninjured.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 142 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 341
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985)
4. 215 AFS ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/2/1952 to 30/6/1954: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/2143/3 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7162857
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VT
6. VT133 as "4D-J" of 74 (Tiger) Squadron, RAF 1949: https://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=57246
7. http://74sqdn.tk/photographic-archive/horsham-st-faith-meteors-hunters/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
14-Apr-2021 18:12	Dr. John Smith	Added
14-Apr-2021 19:39	HB	Updated [Operator, Location, Operator]