Late-night motorway drivers mistake meteorite strike for aircraft crash

Six fire appliances went to the reported crash scene just after 12.15am yesterday at Whitley, near the M62 and close to border with West Yorkshire.

Despite checks with airports as far afield as Liverpool and Doncaster, however, as well as an airborne search using the West Yorkshire Police helicopter, no aircraft wreckage was found.

A North Yorkshire fire brigade spokeswoman confirmed there had been unconfirmed reports of a meteor strike in the Goole area, which motorists on the M62 are thought to have mistaken for a small jet plane crashing to the ground.

Astronomy experts stressed that while there were often reports of shooting stars, it was rare for rock fragments to actually land on the Earth – when they are classed as meteorites.

The president and founder of Scarborough and Ryedale Astronomical Society, John Harper, said: “Larger pieces of rock from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter often come through the atmosphere, but very few actually land on the Earth.

“The meteors often light up the sky momentarily, and the bright light is caused by the air surrounding the rock being ionised. They create a spectacular display in the sky which someone could mistake for a plane coming down.”

Two fire crews from Selby and a further two from Tadcaster were joined by two appliances from the West Yorkshire brigade on the emergency call-out.

One of the largest meteorites ever to have fallen in England landed at Wold Newton, near Bridlington, in December 1795.

Worldwide, there is only one known case of a person being struck by a meteorite – an American woman who was lying in bed and suffered a graze to her thigh when a rock fragment crashed through the roof of her home.