When jet crashed in York (From York Press)

When jet crashed in York

11:15am Thursday 24th May 2012 in Letters By Reader's letter

Reading the letter from Fred Hemenway (Memories of air crash, May 21) reminded me of a number of things.

The first memory was about the (probable) last aircraft to crash in the York area.

On May 6, 1951 a Meteor F.8 from 64 Squadron at Linton-on-Ouse, piloted by 26 year-old Sergeant Pilot Kenneth J Hodgson, went into a vertical dive at 15,000 feet and crashed into a field close to the York/Hull railway line between New Earswick and Rowntrees factory.

Sgt Pilot Hodgson was killed.

The possible cause of the crash was suspected as having been caused by anoxia (oxygen starvation), whereby the pilot would have lapsed into unconsciousness and, probably slumping forward on the “stick”, caused the aircraft to dive vertically into the ground.

However, the Meteor was so badly damaged in the crash the reason for the vertical dive/crash could not be ascertained.

I well remember my friend and I getting on our bikes and riding across the fields to the crash site which was, incredibly, just a smoking hole with very little wreckage to see.

The second memory Mr Hemenway stirred was his mentioning the Observer Corps.

I, as a 17 year-old whippersnapper, was in the Observer Corps too and, like Mr. Hemenway, was stationed at the Post (“Charlie 1”) on Strensall Common. However, I was there in 1953.

I left the Observer Corps at 18 to go and help HM The Queen look after her Meteor aircraft by becoming an airframe mechanic for a couple of years.

Philip Roe, Roman Avenue South, Stamford Bridge, York.