Date:	Thursday 24 February 1949
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor F.4
Owner/operator:	DFLS RAF
Registration:	VW789
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF West Raynham, Fakenham, Norfolk, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF West Raynham, Fakenham, Norfolk
Destination airport:	RAF West Raynham, Fakenham, Norfolk

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.4 VW789: Delivered to the RAF at 38 MU 5.1.48. To 226 OCU, RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk 28.4.48; To CFE (Central Fighter Establishment) RAF 14.5.48. Sustained Cat C accident 9.12.48. Repaired On Site, and returned to the CFE DFLS (Central Fighter Establishment Day Fighter Leaders School) 12.2.49.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 24.2.49 when overshot landing, ran on to rough ground and caught fire, RAF West Raynham. The pilot was engaged on GCA (Ground Controlled Approach) trials; after one approach, the aircraft touched down about half way along a 2000-yard runway, with an 80-degree crosswind, and a downward slope to the runway being used.

The Meteor overran the runway, travelled at high speed across a ploughed field, and an engine caught fire after the aircraft came to a halt. The incident does not seem to have done any lasting harm to the pilot's career; at the time of the above incident he was at the rank of Wing Commander, and, after a distinguished career, rose to the rank of Air Vice Marshall.
Crew:
W/Cdr ???? (pilot) RAF : Ok

Damage initially assessed as Cat B; however, re-cat FACE (Flying Accident Cat.E2) on 5.4.49 and Struck Off Charge for components and scrap.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.480
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. CFE RAF ORB 1-1-1946 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR29/1348: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101058
5. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_2010.pdf p.37
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=vw
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_West_Raynham#Postwar

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Apr-2023 00:30	Dr. John Smith	Added