Date:	Tuesday 24 March 1953
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB Mk 5
Owner/operator:	233 OCU RAF
Registration:	VX476
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Destination airport:	RAF Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB.Mk 5, VX476, 233 OCU, RAF: delivered 23/12/1949. Writen off 24/03/1953 due to starboard undercarriage failure in flight (probably jammed in the "up" position), RAF Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales.

The aircraft had returned from a sector recce to and from RAF Pembrey. When the undercarriage was selected to be lowered, the starboard undercarriage indicator light showed red, which meant a problem with the starboard undercarriage.

Despite several "cycles" of raising and lowering the undercarriage, and yawing the aircraft from to side to side, the pilot could not obtain "three greens" (all three undercarriage lights showing green, indicating that the undercarriage was "down and locked"). A flypast of the control tower at RAF Pembrey allowed ATC (Air Traffic Control) to visuallly confirm that the starboard undercarriage was not lowered.

The pilot was then authorised by ATC to make a wheels-up belly landing at RAF Pembrey, which he did safely. The pilot - Pilot Officer J P Fitzgerlad - was commended for his excellent airmanship and calmness in the circumstances.

However, the Vampire was written off (damaged bweyond repair) and Struck Off Charge as Cat.5(c) on 30/4/1953 at No.34 MU Shrewsbury

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. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p.99)
3. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 352
4. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VX
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH100%20prodn%20list.txt

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
21-Apr-2021 16:44	Dr. John Smith	Added
21-Apr-2021 17:42	Charlie Harper	Updated [Operator, Operator]
23-Jul-2021 19:35	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]