Meteor F.4 VT282 on Newton Mulgrave Moor.

Following an email in 2015 from a Roxby resident basic information came to light that a Meteor was force landed on an unknown date, believed to have been in the early 1950s, on moorland roughly between America House and Calais House, Roxby. The aircraft was intact following the landing and the pilot survived. The location of this landing would by very close to where a Junker Ju88 had crash landed during the Second World War. At the time in 2015 this was a completely new incident to me so upon searching through the Whitby Gazette archives in Whitby library I eventually found a newspaper report which dates the incident to Tuesday, 8th July 1952 and that the aircraft was one flying out of Middleton St.George. The 205 A.F.S. record book mentions the incident in passing and confirms that the aircraft was one of theirs and was based at Middleton St.George.

This is a good example of how further knowledge can be gained in researching a flying accident. Knowing the date and then looking up a newspaper report, combining this with the airfield or unit records the aircraft was with. Having confirmed all this I then located the basic accident record (Form A.M.1180) at the RAF Museum and this gives the aircraft's serial number VT282. The pilot was undertaking am aerobatic training flight and had taken off at 13.40hrs. With the exercise nearing completion and with cloud covering the area at a lower level the pilot radioed base to ask for a controlled descent but then his radio stopped working. Having used up the fuel the pilot made a forced landing at 14.45hrs near Roxby. The accident report stated that in view of his lack of experience his efforts were recorded as being "a good show".

Pilot - P/O Eric Pountain RAF (4062895). Slightly injured.

Eric John Pountain (nee Lloyd) born Cannock, Staffordshire on 5th August 1933 and was the son of Horace and May Pountain. He unfortunately had his RAF commission terminated on 28th November 1952. He is well documented as having done National Service in the RAF and who later became COE of the Tarmac company. He was awarded a Knighthood for his work and died in 2003. I would very much like to hear from his family to see if any photographs remain of his RAF days or whether he recorded anything about this incident.
Meteor VT282 was used by 74 Squadron prior to use by 205 AFS. It was taken away after the forced landing in July 1952 and was converted to be a U.15 target drone. It was finally lost when it was shot down off Malta on 8th September 1960.

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