Date:	Friday 12 February 1954
Time:	22:00
Type:	Gloster Meteor T Mk 7
Owner/operator:	209 AFS RAF
Registration:	WH244
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Stocklinch, 3 miles SE of RAF Merryfield, Somerset -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Weston Zoyland, Bridgwater, Somerset.
Destination airport:	RAF Merryfield, Somerset
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
On 12/2/54, a flight of 7 Meteors from 209 Advanced Flying School took off from Weston Zoyland at 10 p.m. for night flying practice. A separate crash occurred on the runway by Gloster Meteor F4 serial number VT313 at Weston Zoyland runway, blocking it. The flight commander was instructed to fly to RAF Merryfield. Fog reduced visibility down to 1000 yards at Merryfield so the flight leader decided to return to Weston Zoyland where five aircraft made a successful landing on the grass besides the blocked runway. Meteors T7 WH244 and VW430 both crashed within minutes of each other by flying into the ground.

One (VW430) crashed at Ashill near the Ilminster/Taunton road, whilst the other (WH244) crashed near Stocklinch. WH244 hit a clump of trees 1/4 mile from Stocklinch, and came down in a ploughed field, in front of a row of three houses at Tanway. On impact WH244 exploded, causing "a terrific explosion", according to eyewitnesses (as reported in the local newspaper - the "Chard & Ilminster News" of 20/2/54)

Crew:
Pilot Officer Roy James TILLEY, RAF (pilot, Service number 4019072, aged 25) - killed: Pilot of Meteor VW430
Pilot Officer Frederick Ernest FRY (pilot, Service Number 579460, aged 26) RAF - killed: Pilot of Meteor WH244

At the inquest at RAF Merryfield, the Coroner was told that Pilot Officer F.E.Fry had flown a total of 270 hours in RAF service: 170 hours dual flying and 100 hours solo. 42 of these hours were on jet aircraft. However, the flight in which he was killed was the first time that he had flown a jet aircraft at night. He was identified by his name tag, and was buried at Weston Zoyland, Bridgwater, Somerset

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.154 ISBN 0-85130-290-4
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 11)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.26
4. Wings Over Somerset: Aircraft Crashes since the End of World War II By Peter Forrester
5. Chard & Ilminster News - 20 February 1954
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WH
7. https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/70987-meteor-accident-statistics.html#post674650 ...

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
10-Jun-2008 02:12	JINX	Added
07-Jul-2009 04:13	PeterF	Updated
14-Jun-2013 18:00	Nepa	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator]
14-Jun-2013 18:03	Nepa	Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Destination airport, Narrative]
13-Aug-2013 22:44	JINX	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Source]
12-May-2015 17:25	BlB	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
05-Apr-2020 19:37	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
05-Apr-2020 19:57	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source]
05-Apr-2020 19:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
06-Apr-2020 08:55	Iwosh	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Operator]
06-Apr-2020 16:07	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]