Date:	Saturday 24 October 1953
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB Mk 5
Owner/operator:	202 AFS RAF
Registration:	VV226
MSN:	EEP/42470
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Irish Sea, off The Skerries, 2 miles off Carmel Head, Anglesey -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Valley, Anglesey, North Wales
Destination airport:	RAF Valley, Anglesey, North Wales
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB Mk 5 VV226, 202 AFS (Advanced Flying School), RAF: delivered 24/9/1948. Written off 24/10/1953 when crashed into the Irish Sea, near The Skerries, 2 miles off Carmel Head, Anglesey, North Wales.

On a flying training sortie from RAF Valley, Anglesey, the aircraft climbed to an altitude of 8,000 feet, at which point, the engine failed. The pilot made an immediate MAYDAY call over the R/T to ATC (Air Traffic Control) at RAF Valley, and they responded by giving him a course to steer for immediate return to base.

The pilot responded by calling back to ATC, stating that he was low on fuel, and would not be able to reach land, let alone RAF Valley. ATC then advised him to prepare for a ditching at sea, and change to the international distress frequency. Nothing further was heard from the pilot of Vampire VV226, although a splash into the Irish Sea off Carmel Head, Anglesey was seen, at the point where the aircraft is believed to have impacted into the sea. The pilot was killed

Crew of Vampire VV226:
Pilot Officer (2547734) Peter Edwin BANCROFT (pilot) RAF- killed in service 24/10/1953, body not found/not recovered.

Vampire VV226 is believed to have crashed into the Irish sea off The Skerries (Welsh: Ynysoedd y Moelrhoniaid) (grid reference SH268948) a group of sparsely vegetated rocky islets (skerries), with a total area of about 17 hectares (42 acres) lying 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) offshore from Carmel Head at the northwest corner of Anglesey, Wales.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents unbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p 152 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 423
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983)
4. 202 AFS ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/3/1951 to 31/5/1954: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/2144 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101854
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VV
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH100%20prodn%20list.txt
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skerries,_Isle_of_Anglesey
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmel_Head
9. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39739/supplement/57/data.pdf

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
20-May-2021 15:47	Dr. John Smith	Added
20-May-2021 16:12	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]
20-May-2021 22:10	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator]