Date:	Friday 17 January 1947
Time:	night
Type:	North American Harvard T Mk 2B
Owner/operator:	17 SFTS RAF
Registration:	KF251
MSN:	14A-2051
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Spitalgate, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Spitalgate, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:	RAF Spitalgate, Lincolnshire

Narrative:
North American Harvard KF251 [MSN 14A-2051]: Written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed at RAF Spitalgate, Grantham, Lincolnshire. 17/01/1947

The pilot was approaching RAF Spitalgate, at the end of a night flying sortie, and made a very 'tight' circuit before coming in to land. During the final approach to land, the pilot seems to have forgotten to carry out his pre-landing checks, including forgetting to lower the undercarriage. Therefore, the Harvard made a 'wheels up' belly landing at RAF Spitalgate, sustaining severe damage to the underside of the airframe. The pilot, however, appears to have survived uninjured.

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.262
3. The Harvard File (John F Hamlin, Air Britain, 1988 p 117)
4. 17 SFTS RAF ORB for the period 1-2-1920 to 1-12-1949: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR29/699: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4100408
5. https://www.bcar.org.uk/1945-49-incident-logs#1947
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Spitalgate#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-May-2023 08:48	Nepa	Updated