On 4th March 1958 the crew of this No.72 Squadron aircraft had undertaken a training exercise. While returning to land at Church Fenton they were joining the landing circuit when the aircraft collided with Meteor WS782 of 85 Squadron, also based at Church Fenton, to the east of the airfield and roughly between the villages of Cawood and Kelfield. Wreckage from both fell on both sides of the River Ouse. The pilot of WS782 managed to baled out and the aircraft crashed near Mount Pleasant Farm, Kelfield. WS700 fell inverted into the River Ouse near Cawood church with both the airmen inside and sadly both were killed. The crash occurred during a school half-term holiday. Two teenage boys, Brian Thompson and David Lambert, were walking along the riverbank at the time of the collision and narrowly avoided being struck by falling debris including the tail of one (probably WS782). They saw WS700 fall into a deep section of the river and were able to guide search teams to the spot. The aircraft was later salvaged and the bodies of both airmen recovered.

Pilot - F/Lt Ronald Petersen RAF (503329), aged 30. Cremated Lawnswood Crematorium, Leeds.

Navigator - F/Lt John Kenneth McLean RAF (3507127), aged 26. Buried Douglas Borough Cemetery, Isle of Man.