Date:	Sunday 9 September 1951
Time:	15:42
Type:	de Havilland DH.100 Vampire F Mk 3
Owner/operator:	608 (North Riding) Sqn RAF
Registration:	VT863
MSN:	EEP42421
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	nr to Meggison House mile W of Hutton Rudby, North Yorkshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Thornaby, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:	RAF Thornaby, North Yorkshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Vampire VT863 was built to contract 6/ACFT/936 by E.E.C. at Salmesbury and was believed delivered to the RAF in February 1948. It was issued to 54 Squadron at Odiham in April 1948 and on an unknown date moved to the Station Flight at Odiham. It was transferred to 601 Squadron at North Weald in November 1949 and then to 608 Squadron early in 1951

On 9th September 1951 the pilot of Vampire F.3 VT863 took off from RAF Thornaby at 15.35 hours to practice for the Battle of Britain air display, due to be held at Thornaby on 15th September 1951. Whilst flying at a high speed the aircraft was seen to turn steeply before flicking to one side and diving into the ground near to "Meggison House", 1 mile West of Hutton Rudby, North Yorkshire, from between 1,000 and 1,500 feet at 15.42 hours.

The pilot was unable to get clear of the crashing aircraft and was sadly killed. The crash investigation found that the probable cause was probably down to the inexperienced pilot in flying fast and making tight turns at high speed, a stall occurred during one of the turns from which the pilot was unable to recover, possibly because he passed out because of the G-force in the turn.
Crew:
Sgt (2686168) Harry Darragh Mincher RAF (pilot) RAF of Bothwell, Lanarkshire. Buried Darlington West Cemetery, Durham (V6Z376).

Harry Mincher was born on 16th October 1922 and had 44 hours flying time on the Vampire at the time of his death. He flew Beaufighters during the War.

The reported crash location was one mile west of Hutton Rudby, a village and civil parish situated 4 miles west of the market town of Stokesley in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.114 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p.88)
3. Last Take Off; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p.139
4. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VT
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH100%20prodn%20list.txt
6. http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/yorkshire/yorksother/vt863.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutton_Rudby

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-Jan-2015 19:38	Dr. John Smith	Added
05-Jan-2015 19:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Source]
08-Jan-2020 22:09	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Operator]
09-Feb-2021 17:32	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]