Date:	Thursday 12 May 1955
Time:	15:25
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 8
Owner/operator:	211 FTS RAF
Registration:	WE904
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Millthorpe Lane (Junction With Cordwell Lane) Millthorpe, Derbyshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Worksop, Nottinghamshire
Destination airport:	RAF Worksop, Nottinghamshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
The pilot had taken off to carry out a simulated ground controlled descent (GCA) from 10,500 feet. He had been briefed to avoid all cloud owing to his limited instrument flying experience. Six minutes after take off the pilot was heard to call "Oxygen checked" a call normally made at 20,000 feet. Shortly after this the aircraft was seen emerging from the 3,600-foot cloud base in a steep dive. The pilot appeared to recover the aircraft before commencing a sharp turn to starboard and still travelling downwards at high speed, passed through the top of a tree before plunging into what was then a small field at Millthorpe Lane, at the Junction with Cordwell Lane, Millthorpe, Derbyshire, a mere 7 minutes after take off. The aircraft also demolished an adjacent barn.

The AIB report concluded that the pilot had lost control of the aircraft in cloud, which could be explained by his lack of experience, having only 9 hours of total instrument flying of which less than an hour was on Meteors.

Pilot Officer (4142035) Robert Anthony TRITTON (pilot) RAF - killed. On the 12th May 2005 a memorial was unveiled by the sister of the pilot in the village of Millthorpe commemorating his death at the crash site. P/O Tritton is now buried at Retford Road Cemetery, Worksop.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.171 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 49)
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/274: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424395
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/34/S2755: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578535
5. http://www.millthorpeaircrash.org.uk/
6. http://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/crash_sites/peak-district/gloster-meteor-we904-millthorpe/
7. http://www.millthorpeaircrash.org.uk/1955/1955.html
8. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WE
9. http://macr.moonfruit.com/meteor-we904/4522236003
10. http://aircrashsites.co.uk/air-crash-sites-5/gloster-meteor-we904-millthorpe/
11. https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/57190
12. http://peakwreckhunters.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/meteor-f-mk8-we904.html
13. http://rafworksop.btck.co.uk/ThosewhoservedanddiedfortheRAF
14. http://derbyshirewarmemorials.com/neast/57190/57190.html

Pilot Officer R A Tritton © http://nicwhe8.freehostia.com/millthorpe/index.html (WMR-57190) Pilot Officer R A Tritton © http://nicwhe8.freehostia.com/millthorpe/index.html (WMR-57190) Pilot Officer R A Tritton © http://nicwhe8.freehostia.com/millthorpe/index.html (WMR-57190)

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-Jun-2008 16:10	JINX	Added
02-May-2009 04:13	angels one five	Updated
10-Mar-2010 00:26	angels one five	Updated [Source, Narrative]
08-Apr-2011 19:27	angels one five	Updated [Source, Narrative]
13-May-2015 08:30	Boile A.	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
26-May-2017 18:25	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
21-Aug-2018 05:55	angels one five	Updated [Narrative]
25-Dec-2018 21:00	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]
12-Jan-2020 23:28	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]
12-Jan-2020 23:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Embed code]
13-Jan-2020 14:10	stehlik49	Updated [Operator, Operator]