Date:	Saturday 19 May 1951
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 8
Owner/operator:	245 (Northern Rhodesia) Sqn RAF
Registration:	WA827
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norwich, Norfolk, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norfolk
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor WA827: Delivered 26/7/1950. Written off (destroyed) 19/5/1951, when crashed near RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norwich, Norfolk. After taking off from RAF Horsham St. Faith, and beginning an initial climb, the Meteor reached an altitude of 200 feet, and then commenced a roll. When the aircraft was inverted, a sheet of flame was seen to come from the starboard engine jet pipe. The aircraft then completed its roll to become the "right way up" again, but it also seemed to be laterally unstable. The aircraft then flicked downwards, and dived into the ground near RAF Horsham St. Faith.

The RAF Board of Inquiry attributed the cause of the accident to failure of the starboard engine, due to oil entering the engine after the oil filler cap was not secured properly. The pilot of Meteor WA827 was killed

Crew of Meteor WA827
Sergeant John Frederick Baker, RAF (pilot) - killed on active service 19/5/1951

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 WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985)
3. Last Take Off; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p.138
4. 245 Squadron ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/1951 to 31/3/1952: National Archives (PRO Kew) file AIR 27/2670/1 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8426882
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WA

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
31-May-2008 14:27	JINX	Added
07-Jun-2008 02:31	JINX	Updated
18-Jan-2012 02:26	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source]
29-May-2013 14:01	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Location]
23-Jan-2021 21:26	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]