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Date: | Tuesday 24 March 1953 |
Time: | day |
Type: | de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB Mk 5 |
Owner/operator: | 233 OCU RAF |
Registration: | VX476 |
MSN: | |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | RAF Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales -
United Kingdom
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Training |
Departure airport: | RAF Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales |
Destination airport: | RAF Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB.Mk 5, VX476, 233 OCU, RAF: delivered 23/12/1949. Writen off 24/03/1953 due to starboard undercarriage failure in flight (probably jammed in the "up" position), RAF Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales.
The aircraft had returned from a sector recce to and from RAF Pembrey. When the undercarriage was selected to be lowered, the starboard undercarriage indicator light showed red, which meant a problem with the starboard undercarriage.
Despite several "cycles" of raising and lowering the undercarriage, and yawing the aircraft from to side to side, the pilot could not obtain "three greens" (all three undercarriage lights showing green, indicating that the undercarriage was "down and locked"). A flypast of the control tower at RAF Pembrey allowed ATC (Air Traffic Control) to visuallly confirm that the starboard undercarriage was not lowered.
The pilot was then authorised by ATC to make a wheels-up belly landing at RAF Pembrey, which he did safely. The pilot - Pilot Officer J P Fitzgerlad - was commended for his excellent airmanship and calmness in the circumstances.
However, the Vampire was written off (damaged bweyond repair) and Struck Off Charge as Cat.5(c) on 30/4/1953 at No.34 MU Shrewsbury
Sources:
1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.142 ISBN 0-85130-290-4
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p.99)
3. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 352
4.
http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VX 5.
http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH100%20prodn%20list.txt Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
21-Apr-2021 16:44 |
Dr. John Smith |
Added |
21-Apr-2021 17:42 |
Charlie Harper |
Updated [Operator, Operator] |
23-Jul-2021 19:35 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Narrative] |