Date:	Wednesday 13 February 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Miles M-25 Martinet TT Mk 1
Owner/operator:	56 OTU RAF
Registration:	EM651
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Westcott, Westcott, Buckinghamshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Banner and glider towing
Departure airport:	RAF Wescott, Buckinghamshire
Destination airport:	RAF Wescott, Buckinghamshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Miles M-25 Martinet T.Mk.1 EM651/"5", 56 OTU (Operational Training Unit), RAF Milfield, Northumberland: Written off (damaged beyond repair) 13 February 1946 in a landing accident at RAF Westcott, Westcott, Buckinghamshire.

The Martinet had taken off from RAF Westcott on a banner target towing sortie. After completing the briefed sortie, the aircraft returned to RAF Wescott to land. The aircraft was making a flapless landing into zero wind conditions. Having approached the airfield, the aircraft touched down on the runway at a higher speed than normal because of the lack of flaps. This meant that the aircraft could not be stopped before it 'ran out of runway'; the Martinet therefore overshot the runway at RAF Westcott, and went through a hedge.

Although the Martinet was written off (deemed "damaged beyond economic repair") and Struck Off Charge as FACE (Flying Accident Cat. E) the two crew members (Pilot and Target Winch Operator) were uninjured. Not long after this incident, the airfield was transferred to the Ministry of Supply (on 3 April 1946), and became a hub for rocket propulsion research until the 1990s.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.30 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.61
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft EA100-EZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 56 OTU ORB (Operations Record Book) (Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1-1-1939 to 28-2-1946: National Archives (PRO Kew) file AIR 29/683/1 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7161029
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.98: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Westcott#World_War_II
7. http://www.newmp.org.uk/article.php?categoryid=100&articleid=1501&displayorder=10

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
12-Jun-2021 21:22	Dr. John Smith	Added
12-Jun-2021 21:25	Sysel	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Operator]
20-Jun-2021 01:28	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source]
20-Jun-2021 08:25	Sysel	Updated [Operator, Operator]