On 21st February 1954 this local Auxilliary pilot of this Vampire was to carry out a re-familiarisation flight on the type of aircraft at the Thornaby based 608 (Auxilliary) Squadron. He took off from Thornaby at 10.42hrs on a dull day, at 20,000 feet problems occurred with the aircraft; during a practice stall the engine could not be restarted, and at 4,000 feet he called on the radio to say he was baling out. The aircraft dived into the ground vertically at 11.02hrs near Old Lackenby. The body of the pilot was found a few feet away attached to an unopened parachute. It was thought he baled out moments before the impact but he was killed when his parachute failed to deploy.
Pilot - P/O Ronald Webster RAF(AAF) (3135026), aged 24, of Carlin How / Kilton, Saltburn. Buried Brotton Cemetery, Yorkshire (grave FA21).
Ronald Webster was a National Service pilot who was born on 14th June 1929, he received a commission to the rank of Acting P/O on probation on 30th April 1952 from the rank of Cadet Pilot. He was regraded as P/O on 16th January 1953 but relinquished his commission in the National Service on appointment to the R.Aux.A.F. on 7th January 1954. Just over a month later he was killed in this accident and had only ten hours flying on the Vampire at his death, presumbly done on weekends in the weeks between joining the R.Aux.A.F. and his death.
The crash site is thought to be inside the boundary of a large power distribution plant which was built over the site in the years after the crash.
Vampire WA404 was built to contract 6/ACFT/2981 by English Electric Co.Ltd. at Samlesbury and was delivered to the RAF in June 1951, it was issued shortly after to Central Gunnery School at Leconfield. On 2nd October 1951 it was force landed near Haltwhistle with the aircraft sustaining Cat.4 repairable damage. On an unknown date it was transferred to 608 Squadron at Thornaby. It was destroyed following the accident at Lackenby in February 1954 with Cat.5/FA(burnt) damage being the damage assessmennt.