Date:	Saturday 3 April 1954
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor T Mk 7
Owner/operator:	604 (County of Middlesex) Sqn RAF
Registration:	WL462
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Blackmore, 3 miles east of Chipping Ongar, Essex, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF North Weald, Essex
Destination airport:	RAF North Weald, Essex
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor T.Mk.7 WL462: Awaiting collection 8/10/52, delivered 27/10/53. RAF service was with 604 (County of Middlesex) Squadron, RAF only.

Written off (destroyed) 3/4/54: Collided with Meteor F.8 WL128 of 111 Squadron (which was the number two aircraft of a pair) during a controlled descent to RAF North Weald, and abandoned over Blackmore, 3 miles East of Chipping Ongar, Essex. While the pilot of Meteor F.8 WL128 - Flying Officer W.J. Elles-Hill - bailed out successfully, the pilot of Meteor T.7 WL462 was killed. The second crew member of Meteor T.7 WL462 also bailed out safely.

Crew of Meteor WL462
F/O (3124626) Peter Michael AUSTIN (nav.) RAF: killed on active service 3/4/54: Did not bale out in time and parachute not deployed successfully
F/Lt (518691) Ernest James Raymond DOWNS (pilot) RAF - bailed successfully and survived

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.155 ISBN 0-85130-290-4
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 72)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.49
4. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WL
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mid-air_collisions_and_incidents_in_the_United_Kingdom#1950s
6. http://nwamuseum.co.uk/IncidentsWestEssexto2000-1.pdf
7. https://www.rauxaf.net/page130.html

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-Apr-2020 18:47	Dr. John Smith	Added
07-Apr-2020 19:04	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
07-Apr-2020 20:54	INV	Updated [Operator, Location, Operator]