Date:	Thursday 1 November 1951
Time:
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 8
Owner/operator:	63 Sqn RAF
Registration:	WA940
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:
Destination airport:	RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8 WA940, 56 Squadron RAF: delivered 29/11/1950. Written off (damaged beyond repair) 1/11/1951, when struck by Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8 VZ497 after both aircraft had landed at RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire. The pilots of both aircraft were killed.

Meteor VZ497 landed first, and was still on the runway when it was hit by Meteor WA940. Both aircraft ran off the runway, still locked together, skidded into a ditch, exploded and caught fire.

Pilot of Meteor WA940:
Flight Sergeant George Ian Angus Baldwin, RAF (aged 23) - killed

The subsequent RAF Board of Inquiry attributed the cause of the accident to negligence by ATC (Air Traffic Control) in allowing Meteor WA940 to land while Meteor VZ497 was still on the runway. Flight Sergeant Albert John Beech was later awarded a Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct for his attempts to rescue the two pilots

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.121 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 Colin Cummings p 192
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain 1983)
4. 56 Squadron ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/1951 to 31/12/1955: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2620/1 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8424700
5. https://aviationtrails.wordpress.com/2018/12/16/raf-waterbeach-a-period-of-change-part-3/
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WA
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Waterbeach#Fighter_Command,_1950-1963

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
31-May-2008 20:23	JINX	Added
07-Jun-2008 11:54	JINX	Updated
11-May-2015 19:49	DB	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Destination airport]
13-Feb-2021 16:49	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Other fatalities, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
13-Feb-2021 16:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
13-Feb-2021 16:55	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]