Date:	Friday 18 August 1950
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB Mk 5
Owner/operator:	CFE RAF
Registration:	VZ290
MSN:	EEP/42...
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF West Raynham, Fakenham, Norfolk, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF West Raynham, Fakenham, Norfolk
Destination airport:	RAF West Raynham, Fakenham, Norfolk
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB.Mk.5 VZ290, CFE (Central Fighter Establishment), RAF: Delivered 21-2-1950. Written off (destroyed) 18-8-1950: The aircraft was carrying out "S" turns at the downwind end of the main runway at RAF West Raynham, Fakenham, Norfolk on approach. The reason for the "S" turns was that the Vampire was waiting for a glider and tug aircraft to take off and clear the runway. During one of these "S" turns, the Vampire stalled at low airspeed, and could not recover due to the low altitude available. The pilot was killed.

Crew of Vampire VZ290:
Flight Lieutenant Joseph Draper, RAF (pilot) - killed on active service 17-8-1950

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.105 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983)
3. Last Take Off; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p.74
4. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VZ
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH100%20prodn%20list.txt

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
28-Dec-2020 22:08	Dr. John Smith	Added
28-Dec-2020 22:15	Emil Robot	Updated [Operator, Location, Nature, Operator]