Date:	Tuesday 14 September 1948
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 4
Owner/operator:	1 Sqn RAF
Registration:	VT172
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Taxi
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Tangmere, West Sussex
Destination airport:	RAF Tangmere, West Sussex

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.4 VT172: Delivered to 1 Squadron, RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex 28 May 1948.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 14 September 1948 when engine exploded into flames while taxiing at RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex. The aircraft had landed at Tangmere at the conclusion of an aerobatic sortie. The pilot then opened the throttles to provide enough power to taxi off the runway, when there was a flash fire in the port engine nacelle, caused by a "blow back" igniting fuel, which had leaked into the port engine nacelle, due to a faulty fuel control valve. Pilot escaped from the Meteor uninjured., but the airframe was deemed "damaged beyond economic repair" due to fire damage.

Damage initially assessed as Cat B; to Gloster Aircraft at Hucclecote 21.10.48 for repairs. Repairs cancelled and Struck Off Charge 27.1.49 as Cat. E

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.79. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985 p 83)
3. Final Landings A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 - 1949 p 428 by Colin Cummings
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/29/W2429: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578275
5. Air Britain Aeromilitaria Winter 2009 p.173: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_2009.pdf
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VT
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Tangmere#Postwar

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Dec-2019 18:27	Dr. John Smith	Added
02-Dec-2019 19:01	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Narrative, Operator]
15-Feb-2020 22:11	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
09-Jul-2023 20:32	Nepa	Updated [[Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]]