Date:	Tuesday 22 July 1952
Time:	09:15
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 4
Owner/operator:	215 AFS RAF
Registration:	VT264
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Finningley, South Yorkshire
Destination airport:	RAF Castle Donington, Leicestershire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.Mk.4 VT264, 215 AFS (Advanced Flying School), RAF Finningley: delivered 22/9/1948. Written off 22/7/1952 when crashed at Castle Donington, Leicestershire. The pilot seemed to be having trouble in establishing his position while on a sortie from RAF Finningley, South Yorkshire. He eventually asked ATC (Air Traffic Control) for a fix on his position, using the emergency frequency. He also advised that he was running short of fuel, and needed to land urgently.

The aircraft then approached a disused airfield (RAF Castle Donington - now East Midlands Airport), but was wrecked when it flew into an elm tree on approach at Castle Donington, Leicestershire while trying to land. The pilot was thrown clear and killed. Emergency service logs give the location as Lockington Grange Farm/Hemmington Hill.They record the aircraft severing the top of the tree, bouncing over a hedge, then skidding - shedding debris across a two-acre field. Farmworkers and two local residents, one an off-duty RAF airman, went to the scene but the pilot was beyond help. One RAF fire appliance and two civilian appliances attended but there was no fire.

Crew of Meteor VT264:
Pilot-Officer (2503559) Gerald RAYNER (pilot) RAF- killed on duty 23/7/1952. Aged 20, he was from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.

The Meteor was attempting to land at RAF Castle Donington, which closed in 1946, so was "disused" at the time of this incident. In 1964-65 it was re-opened at East Midlands Airport

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.130 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 Colin Cummings p 270
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain 1983)
4. 215 AFS ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/2/1952 to 30/6/1954: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/2143/3 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7162857
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VT
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Midlands_Airport#RAF_Castle_Donington

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
16-Mar-2021 17:56	Dr. John Smith	Added
16-Mar-2021 18:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
16-Mar-2021 20:46	Udet	Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator]
23-Mar-2024 16:48	Paul Allonby	Updated [Time, Source, Narrative]