The Night it Rained Meteors

[Dennis Kenyon]

This is something of a 'longshot' but is for any PPs around who can recollect the happenings at 209 AFS RAF Westonzoyland in February 1954. Yes I said 'fifty.'

I've been asked to write an article covering the event on a night flying exercise when a Meteor, (I think it was a Mk7) landed wheels up on 12th February. I'm not naming names at this stage tho' In those days, the runway consisted of 'goose-neck flares' and as it wasn't possible to get the jet clear, three other Meteors were held overhead while efforts were made to set out an emergency runway alongside.

WZ sits on the Sedgemoor plain in an area surrounded by the Polden, Blackdown and Quantock hills. Fog was forming. Following abortive attempts to land on the emergency strip in the reduced visibility, two Mk 4 aircraft were diverted by ATC to nearby Merryfield. Sadly neither pilot made it and crashed fatally.

A fourth Meteor 7 with a ventral fuel tank was held overhead and eventually cleared in to attempt a landing. On the final approach both engines flamed out but luckily a non-damaging landing was accomplished. A local paper covered the story the next day with the headline ... "The Night it Rained Meteors."

I would like to hear from any personnel who may have served at Weston Zoyland at the time. (ATC or aircrew, etc) and who can provide further information of that night. Please use: [email protected]. Many thanks to our Mod and all ppruners. DRK.

[Kluseau]

Dennis, this is fairly well covered on a (very) old thread on the forum: http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/70987-meteor-accident-statistics.html

Which is not, of course, to say that there's nothing new to be said on the subject.

[Danny42C]

Kluseau ,

Oddly enough, I was flying at WZ for a few weeks in Oct/Nov '54, and stayed there till March '55, and don't remember anything being said about it. But then twelve months was a long time, and Meteors were spearing in all over the place all the time - and I had my own problems to contend with !

Danny42C

[Dennis Kenyon]

Thanks Kluseau,

I'll run through the earlier thread as indicated. DRK

[Dennis Kenyon]

Many thanks for the reference Kluseau ... plenty of information for me on a general Meteor basis which is much appreciated. However, I'm hoping to touch base with any personnel who were more closely associated with the Feb 12 1954 occasion or anyone who has more detailed info of that night. I was actually airborne and am trying to match my recollections of the RT transmissions from the diverted aircraft to published reports. I hit 82 this year so the memory cells ain't so good these days!

For example, after landing, I was approached by an RAF fireman who had been on the blocked runway guarding the wheels-up Meteor. He told me the last Meteor to land didn't have any sound coming from the engines.

Any other associated ground crew or pilots on here? Instructor names I recall were F/L Pinder, Pryce, Taylor, Curtis and Lawrence. F/Os Woodward, Clarke, Warden and Goodfellow .... Student pilots, F/Os Armstrong, Austin, Huggins and self, plus the Squadron CO, Franklyn and W/C Horne.

Anyone remember the Air Commodore who landed well down the runway on a first jet solo. He decided to overshoot as it was called in those days. One engine lit up and the other just resonated with compressor stall. The Meteor was BER but the pilot totally OK. (Name withheld)

From my log book for the 'Reggie Buffs ... Meteors on 209 AFS were: WH228, 727, 316, 271. Mk 4s, VT120, 127, 128, 228, 309, 332 and 337.
E&Os excepted.

Thanks to all, DRK

[BEagle]

No wonder the crashed aircraft compound at WZ was so full of silver painted metal with yellow bands, Dennis! I can still picture it in my mind's eye, although I was only 3 or 4 years old at the time!

[SASless]

Did not one such crash at Teeside result in the Pilot tearing through the Officers Mess Parking Lot destroying a car then crashing into the Mess it self and sadly killing him when the Bridge Block over the window came down on the back of his neck. He was quite a considerate fellow i heard in that it his own car and Room in the Mess he destroyed. The repair to the Mess is still visible today.

[Dennis Kenyon]

Hallo B-Eagle,

Yes, the Meteor thread on here is an astonishing tale of crashing Meteors. If the services had published their accident figures in those days, the MPs would have become involved for sure.

My Weston Zoyland training course lost a total of five aircraft in four months. That included three pilots and one instructor out of a course of just nine! I recall spending almost two hours on one engine while searching the nearby moors for F/L Pinder's aircraft. The bodies emerged from the Severn Estuary some time later I understand.

One afternoon while flying with an instructor we were diverted to Yeovilton due to wx and landed with 10 gallons. An engine flamed out as we taxied in to the apron.

All a bit odd as has been said on the associated Meteor thread, the old girl was a super ship to fly just so long as you kept to the right numbers and recommended control handling. Best wishes to all on here. Dennis K.

[ian16th]

SASless,
By 'Teeside', do you mean RAF Middleton St. George, which became Teesside Airport, or RAF Thornaby?

[Fitter2]

The 'Middleton Ghost' episode was at M-St-G. (Now Tyne Tees Airport)

[spekesoftly]

(Now Tyne Tees Airport)Renamed 'Durham Tees Valley Airport' about 9 years ago.