Date:	Monday 17 November 1952
Time:	11:25 LT
Type:	Gloster Meteor NF Mk 11
Owner/operator:	228 OCU RAF
Registration:	WD723
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	North Sea, 500 yards E of Seaburn, Sunderland, County Durham -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor NF.11 WD723, 228 OCU, RAF: Written off (destroyed) 17/11/52 when crashed into the North Sea, at Whitburn Bay, 500 yards East of Seaburn, Sunderland, County Durham. Both crew killed.

The Meteor was engaged in practice interceptions, and was making a head-on approach to the target aircraft. However, R/T Contract was lost, and the aircraft was next seen emerging from cloud. losing altitude slowly and trailing black smoke. At about 800 feet altitude, the aircraft exploded and disintegrated in flight, with the wreckage falling from 800 feet into the North Sea, approximately 500 yards offshore over Whitburn Bay, off Seaburn.

According to an eyewitness report:
"Seen in shallow dive trailing smoke, blew up 500 yards offshore. I was standing in Fulwell Juniors school yard when it flew over. It crashed off Seaburn. Lots of people, including teachers from the school went to Seaburn beach the next day to pick up washed up wreckage."

Crew:
Flight-Lt James WARD, RAF (pilot, aged 32) - killed. Jim had been in the RAF since 1940 and after training in Canada had served with 456 Sqn on Beaufighters night-fighters. He then transferred to 255 Sqn in September 1942, and flew Beaufighters in the Middle East. Married with two children, he remained in the RAF post-war and at the time of his death was a flying instructor rated ''above average'' with 3,322-hours logged. He was a staff instructor at the Central Flying School, on attachment to 228 OCU to gain qualification on Meteor night-fighters. Born in Liverpool, he and his family lived in Cheshire at the time of his death.
Pilot Officer Derek John METTEM (navigator) - killed. Aged 19, Derek decided to forego a police career to serve as a regular officer in the RAF. He was from Tilehurst, Berkshire. The Court of Inquiry was unable to determine the cause of the crash and despite extensive sea and air searches, the bodies of the crew were never found.

1. Eyewitness Reports
2. Sunderland Echo 17.11.52
3. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 137 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
4. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 310
5. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 29)
6. Coupland, Peter (1997). Straight and true : a history of Royal Air Force Leeming p 176. London: Leo Cooper. ISBN 0850525691.
7. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/125: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424246
8. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/32/S2605: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578451
9. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WD
10. https://www.nelsam.org.uk/NEAR/Losses/Losses-PostWWII.htm
11. https://www.pressreader.com/uk/sunderland-echo/20150514/281835757276752
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_accidents_and_incidents_involving_Royal_Air_Force_aircraft_from_1945#1950s
13. Research by Paul Allonby RAeS into the biographies of Flt-Lt Ward and P-O Mettem. National Archives document BT 233/125 applies.

1941 - RCAF Moose Jaw. Jim Ward (family photo)

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
03-Jun-2008 02:52	JINX	Added
18-Mar-2011 10:51	fred	Updated [Source, Narrative]
25-Jan-2013 12:17	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
05-Mar-2014 07:57	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Narrative]
31-Dec-2019 19:31	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]
31-Dec-2019 19:36	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Source]
01-Jan-2020 09:01	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Operator]
11-Nov-2023 15:41	Paul Allonby	Updated [Source, Narrative, Photo]