Date:	Monday 9 December 1957
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.115 Vampire T Mk 11
Owner/operator:	RAF College Cranwell
Registration:	WZ456
MSN:	15059
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Balderton, 2 miles South of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Cranwell, Sleaford, Lincolnshire (EGYD)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.115 Vampire T.Mk 11 WZ456: delivered 7/1/1953. Operational service career was with 208 AFS (Advanced Flying School), 206 AFS, 5 FTS (Flying Training School) and the RAF College Cranwell (coded "50")

Crashed and destroyed 9/12/1957: crashed near Balderton, two miles south of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire after both crew ejected, following loss of control during practice aerobatics. The pupil pilot carried out a spin at 28,000 feet, and a slow roll at 22,000 feet, after which the Instructor pilot took control in order to demonstrate a spin to the left, and then the recovery from that spin.

Having levelled the wings, the wings then suddenly began to rotate to the left very rapidly; after three or four rolls to the left, the direction of the rotation suddenly reversed to the right. As the Instructor pilot, could not regain control, both crew then bailed out by ejecting safely. Both parachuted down to the ground unhurt.

Crew of Vampire WZ456:
Flying Officer G. D. Andrews RAF (pupil pilot under instruction, Service Number 607757)
Flight Lieutenant G. Willis, RAF (QFI Instructor pilot)

Flying Officer Andrews seems to have been none the worse from his ejection, continuing in service for a further 12 years, later rising to the rank of Squadron Leader, and retired at that rank on 24/10/1969

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.194 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 108)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.273
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/38/S2904: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578684
5. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1957.htm
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH115%20prodn%20list.txt
7. https://ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh115.pdf
8. http://web.archive.org/web/20170421194235/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/PROJECT/YEAR_Pages/1957.htm
9. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WZ
10. http://www.aeroclocks.com/images/pics_articles/Middleton%201.pdf
11. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/44971/supplement/11389/data.pdf
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balderton

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-Mar-2013 09:51	Dr. John Smith	Added
10-Jan-2020 18:58	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Nature, Operator]
15-Aug-2020 20:22	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
03-Dec-2020 17:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]