Date:	Monday 19 December 1949
Time:
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 4
Owner/operator:	43 (China-British) Sqn RAF
Registration:	VT257
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Tangmere, West Sussex
Destination airport:	RAF Tangmere, West Sussex

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor VT257; Delivered to 6 MU RAF Brize Norton 13.9.48. To 63 Squadron 21.12.48; canopy disintegrated in flight, 13.5.49; Repaired on Site. To 43 Squadron, RAF Tangmere 28.6.49 coded 'SW-T'; windscreen cracked, 27.6.49; Repaired on Site. Returned to 43 Squadron, RAF Tangmere 14.7.49, still coded 'SW-T'. Written off (damaged beyond repair) 19.12.49 when crashed at RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex.

The starboard engine oversped in flight and was closed down. The pilot Flt/Lt A G C Farley then made an approach to RAF Tangmere, but at too high a speed, and the pilot also had problems with manually pumping the flaps to the "down" position. The pilot therefore attempted to overshoot the approach to RAF Tangmere, but the aircraft swung uncontrollably. To correct this the pilot shut down the port engine, and made a forced landing at RAF Tangmere. Pilot sustained slight injuries.

Aircraft damage initially assessed as Cat. B. However, later reassessed as Cat. E not repaired, struck off charge 7/1/150 as Cat.5(scrap).

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.563
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. ORB 43 Sqdn RAF for the period 1/2/1949 to 31/12/1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2414/2: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8439235
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VT
6. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/military/Crashes_in_the_South_East.pdf
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Tangmere#Postwar
8. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_2009.pdf p 176
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._43_Squadron_RAF#Entering_the_Jet_Age_and_RAF_Khormaksar_(1949%E2%80%931967)

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