Date:	Monday 20 December 1948
Time:	day
Type:	Handley Page Halifax Met Mk VI
Owner/operator:	224 Sqn RAF
Registration:	ST815
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Aldergrove, Belfast, Northern Ireland -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Standing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Aldergrove, Northern Ireland
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Handley Page Halifax Met VI ST815, 224 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed by fire) 20-12-48 in a ground servicing accident at RAF Aldergrove, Belfast, Northern Ireland

The aircraft was undergoing a major maintenance servicing inspection in a hangar at RAF Aldergrove. An electric lamp being used by one the ground crew, connected by a 'wandering lead' to the external power supply. The ground crew member accidentally dropped the lamp, shattering the bulb. The light bulb burst open, and the heat from the bulb ignited a spillage of hydraulic fluid. This, in turn, started a serious fire which gutted the aircraft, leaving it a burnt-out wreck.

224 Squadron reformed on 1-3-48 at RAF Aldergrove, equipped with the Handley Page Halifax GR.VI. In 1951 it re-equipped with the Avro Shackleton, which it operated from RAF Gibraltar from August 1951, until disbanding on 31-10-66. Handley Page Halifax GR.VI aircraft were operated from March 1948 to early 1952.

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 Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p 457
3. 224 Sqn RAF ORB for December 1948: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2476/54: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8422236
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._224_Squadron_RAF#History
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Helicopter_Command_Flying_Station_Aldergrove#Royal Air Force oper

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
08-Apr-2023 12:18	Dr. John Smith	Added