Date:	Wednesday 1 May 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Vickers Wellington Mk XIII
Owner/operator:	EANS RAF
Registration:	ME928
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Bolt Head, one mile SW of Salcombe, Devon, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Shawbury, Shropshire
Destination airport:	RAF Bolt Head, Salcombe, Devon

Narrative:
Vickers Wellington Mk. XIII ME928, EANS (Empire Air Navigation School), RAF: Written off (damaged beyond repair) 1 May 1946 in a landing accident at RAF Bolt Head, near Salcombe, Devon.

During a long-range navigation sortie from RAF Shawbury, Shropshire, the port engine of Wellington ME928 failed in flight. The pilot reacted by making an emergency diversion to RAF Bolt Head, Devon, and attempted to make an asymmetric (single engine) landing, flying on the power of the starboard engine alone. However, due to the urgency of the landing, the pilot failed to allow sufficient time for the undercarriage to lower and lock.

Immediately on touch down, the still unlocked, and partially lowered, undercarriage collapsed, and the aircraft slid on its belly along the runway at RAF Bolt Head. Although the aircraft was a write off (deemed FACE (Flying Accident Cat. E) and thus "damaged beyond repair") the crew of Wellington ME928 appear to have survived uninjured.

RAF Bolt Head is a former Royal Air Force grass airfield 1 mile south west of Salcombe on the south Devon coast, England from 1941 to 1945. During the Second World War it was used as a satellite for RAF Exeter.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p 39. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft MA100-MZ999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain 1985)
3. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.134
4. EANS RAF ORB for the period 1-1-1946 to 31-7-1949: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR29/1804: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101514
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.98: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=%20ME928
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_College_of_Air_Warfare#History
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Bolt_Head

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
14-Jul-2021 13:55	Dr. John Smith	Added
14-Jul-2021 21:32	Dandy	Updated [Operator, Location, Operator]
29-Jun-2023 20:11	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Operator, Location, Operator]]