Date:	Thursday 15 October 1953
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.112 Venom FB Mk 1
Owner/operator:	27 MU RAF
Registration:	WE417
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Shawbury, Shropshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Shawbury, Shropshire
Destination airport:	RAF Shawbury, Shropshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.112 Venom FB Mk 1 WE417, 27 MU RAF Shawbury: Built at DeHavilland, Harwarden, Chester. Delivered to 27 MU RAF Shawbury 2/10/1953. Written off (damaged beyond repair) 15/10/1953 on a post-delivery maintenance test flight.

At an altitude of 9,000 feet, and shortly after take off from RAF Shawbury, Shropshire, the engine of Venom FB.1 WE417 failed. The pilot immediately initiated a return to base (RAF Shawbury), and lowered the undercariage on final approach. However, the indicator lights on the control panel flashed to indicate that the undercarriage was only partially lowered, and not 100% "lowered and locked".

The pilot then attempted to manually override the undercarriage lowering system, and pump the wheels down manually using the onboard manual hydraulic pump. Unfortunately, there was insufficient altitude and time to complete the manual lowering of the undercarriage.

The pilot then landed Venom FB.1 WE417 on the grass at the side of the runway, with the undercarriage only partially lowered. Although the aircraft was written off, the pilot appears to have survived uninjured.

The airframe was Struck Off Charge at 34 MU RAF Shrewsbury, Shropshire as Cat.5(G/I) on 7/12/1953 for ground instructional use as GIA 7115M. In the event, it was later deemed that Venom WE417 was too badly damaged to be of any use as a Ground Instructional Airframe; instead, it was Re-Cat.5(s) on 23/2/1954 and sold for scrap to BKL Alloys, Kings Norton, Birmingham.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.150 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 Colin Cummings p 420
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983)
4. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WE
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH112%20prodn%20list.txt

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
04-Jun-2008 12:31	JINX	Added
18-Jun-2008 11:03	JINX	Updated
28-May-2015 14:59	T.T.Taylor	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Destination airport]
19-May-2021 16:44	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date, Time, Operator, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
19-May-2021 16:45	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
19-May-2021 16:46	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
19-May-2021 16:47	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
19-May-2021 16:48	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date]
19-May-2021 20:06	Digger	Updated [Operator, Location, Operator]