Date:	Wednesday 20 August 1952
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor T Mk 7
Owner/operator:	CFS RAF
Registration:	WA691
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	1 mile south of RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Little Rissington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire (EGVL)
Destination airport:	RAF Little Rissington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire (EGVL)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor T.Mk.7 WA691/"Y-D" of the CFS (Central Flying School), RAF: delivered 22/6/1950. Written off (damaged beyond repair) 20/08/1952. The aircraft was returning to base (RAF Little Rissington) with the starboard engine shut down to conserve fuel. On the final stages of the asymmetric (single engine) approach, the 'live' (port) engine failed.

With no working engines, an immediate wheels down landing was made in a field one mile south of the runway at Little Rissington. (The undercarrriage had already been lowered and locked down earlier the final approach). During the landing, the Meteor went through a stone wall, which ripped off the undercarriage.

The damaged airframe was sent to Gloster Aircraft for asessement; there, it was deemed 'beyond economic repair' and Struck Off Charge 27/10/1952 as CAT 5(c) by Glosters.

The RAF Board of Inquiry into the incident deemed that the cause of the accident was a failure by the pilot to maintain a safe margin of fuel reserves while completing a circuit and landing approach. The pilot survived the crash with minor injuries.

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. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983)
3. Last Take Off; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p.282
4. RAF in Camera: 1950s By Keith Wilson p.80
5. CFS RAF ORB (Operational Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/1951 to 31/12/1955: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/2310/2 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7163225
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WA
7. https://www.aviation-links.co.uk/Gloucestershire%20Aircraft%20Accidents.pdf

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
31-May-2008 07:41	JINX	Added
05-Jun-2008 17:07	JINX	Updated
12-May-2015 09:01	Charlie Harper	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Destination airport]
19-Mar-2021 22:48	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
20-Mar-2021 16:26	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
20-Mar-2021 21:12	Charlie Harper	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Operator]
20-Mar-2021 23:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
20-Mar-2021 23:35	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]