Date:	Tuesday 19 August 1952
Time:	night
Type:	Gloster Meteor NF Mk 11
Owner/operator:	228 OCU RAF
Registration:	WD772
MSN:	AWA
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	2.5 miles north east of Stanhope, County Durham, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor NF.11 WD772, 228 OCU, RAF Leeming: delivered 10/6/1952. Written off 19/8/1952 when collided with WD714 during night interception practice. WD772 and the other aircraft, another Gloster Meteor NF.11 of 228 OCU (WD714) were carrying out 'head on' contacts at 17,500 feet, with Meteor WD714 acting as the 'agressor' aircraft.

On the fourth such 'head on' run, a collision took place, and both aircraft went out of control and crashed two-and-a-half miles north east of Stanhope, County Durham. Of the four crew (two in each aircraft), the crew of Meteor NF.11 WD714 bailed out and survived; the crew of Meteor MF.11 WD772 were both killed

Crew of Meteor WD772:
Pilot Officer (2497528) William HESKETH (pilot) RAF - killed in service 19/8/1952
Pilot Officer (2499435) Frank Reginald PINCKARD (navigator) RAF - killed in service 19/8/1952

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.133 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 281
3. 228 Squadron ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/3/1951 to 31/12/1955: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR AIR 29/2166 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101876
4. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WD
5. https://www.nelsam.org.uk/NEAR/Losses/Losses-PostWWII.htm
6. http://web.archive.org/web/20160310233713/http://ejection-history.org.uk/squadron_228_ocu/squadron_228ocu.htm
7. http://sites.rootsmagic.com/Pinckard/individual.php?p=389
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanhope,_County_Durham

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
03-Jun-2008 14:45	JINX	Added
23-Jan-2012 05:22	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Source]
05-Mar-2014 07:48	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
20-Mar-2021 15:09	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
20-Mar-2021 15:14	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
20-Mar-2021 15:43	Angel dick one five	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Nature, Narrative, Operator]
20-Mar-2021 23:42	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]