Date:	Monday 31 October 1949
Time:	11:55 LT
Type:	Westland Wyvern TF Mk 2
Owner/operator:	Westland Aircraft Ltd
Registration:	VP113
MSN:	12/45
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	30 Westland Road, Yeovil, Somerset -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Test
Departure airport:	Yeovil Aerodrome, Yeovil, Somerset (EGHG)
Destination airport:	Yeovil Aerodrome, Yeovil, Somerset (EGHG)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Second prototype Westland Wyvern TF.Mk.2 VP113, first flown at Yeovil 30 August 1949. Written off (destroyed) when crashed at 30 Westland Road, Yeovil, Somerset 31 October 1949.

At the completion of a test flight the pilot made a fast, low-level run across the airfield in the course of which the Wyvern's engine failed. The pilot pulled the plane up to 2,500 feet and then attempted a forced landing on the airfield.

Crossing the boundary fence at an estimated two hundred miles per hour, the Wyvern touched down 3/4 of the way across the airfield, overshooting and crashing into a housing estate near the boundary. One house was demolished by the impact, and 3 occupants were killed.

According to an account in "Somerset Live" (2 July 2017):

"Dark Somerset: The secret jet that killed four people in Yeovil
A semi-secret jet 'plane crashed on council houses in Yeovil killing three people instantly and leading to the death of a fourth

It was just before noon on Monday, October 31, 1949 when a jet plane screamed out of the sky, hurtled across waste ground and collided with council houses in Yeovil, killing three people instantly, including a young girl playing on her bike. Described by the newspapers of the time as a "secret plane", the aircraft was a Westland Wyvern TF.2 prototype.

Piloted by Squadron Leader Michael A Graves, who was a 28-year-old assistant chief test pilot from Westlands, the plane ploughed through the perimeter fencing of what was then Westlands Airfield and across 200 yards of waste ground before striking the corner of a block of four houses and catching fire. He was killed instantly in the collision.

Ann Wilkins, a five-year-old girl who lived at 98 Westland Road, was enjoying the first day of her half-term holiday and had been playing with her friends on the waste ground near 62 Westland Road when she was killed. Her friends narrowly escaped harm as the aircraft ploughed towards them.

A mother of five children, 40-year-old Edith Brown, was buried in the ruins of her home at 30 Westland Road, which was completely demolished in the accident. Her body was found by rescuers who searched for her for over an hour.

A neighbour, 57-year-old Elsie Hockey, was trapped by the debris between a gas stove and a wall in her badly damaged house. Her clothes were alight when she was rescued by the fire service, who kept hosing her down to protect her from the fire as they worked to free her. Sadly, she died in hospital of her injuries

An inquest into the deaths heard that the plane had been carefully checked before it had been allowed to fly, and that those at the airfield saw the jet 'flash' past the windows shortly before the collision.

Harold Penrose, chief test pilot told the court: "The machine was going extremely fast, and it was apparent the pilot was trying to make a crash landing. It was obvious the pilot would have the greatest difficulty in trying to reach the aerodrome before reaching the boundary fence."

He spoke of the Wyvern's dive, saying the angle had become steeper and steeper, as though the pilot realised, he had overshot and was making a last attempt to get the machine onto the edge of the aerodrome. "It increased the danger to him, of course. But it was a gamble," he told the coroner. The coroner, Mr C Jowett recorded a verdict of death by misadventure on all four people, but spoke of the bravery of the pilot who would have known he 'never had a chance'.

"It seems obvious that at the moment when the pilot went into a steep dive, he realised he could do no more," he said. If he went too much further, he would overshoot the aerodrome and be in the middle of the town and that the consequences would have been extremely grave. I think the pilot must have known that he never had a chance."

Note that the main "point of impact" for Wyvern VP113 was 30 Westland Road. However, large pieces of wreckage also landed on 60 and 62 Westland Road opposite (see link #8 for crash photos)

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985 p 72)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) AVIA 5/29/W2468: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578314
3. http://thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/memorial/entry.php?id=196
4. https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/dark-somerset-secret-jet-killed-145802
5. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac6/Westland%20Wyvern%20TF%20Mk.2.html
6. VP113 at Farnborough Air Show 10 Sep 1949: https://www.flickr.com/photos/88160313@N03/10986574513
7. http://www.aviationbanter.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=56081&d=1339589325
8. https://www.facebook.com/groups/319895558407336/permalink/383372455392979/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-Jun-2010 20:05	angels one five	Added
31-Oct-2011 16:37	angels one five	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Destination airport, Narrative]
29-Apr-2013 18:25	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative]
05-May-2014 18:39	TB	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Other fatalities, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
05-May-2014 18:43	TB	Updated [Source]
17-Nov-2014 08:58	angels one five	Updated [Aircraft type, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative]
27-Dec-2014 02:40	angels one five	Updated [Narrative]
04-Dec-2019 04:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]