Spitfire misfires above caravan park and narrowly misses trees before dramatic crash off Lower Wall Road in West Hythe
Staycationers say a Spitfire plane misfired above a caravan park, lost altitude and narrowly missed trees moments before crash landing in a field. The historic aircraft, which had two people onboard, remains in the mustard field today after dramatically veering out of the sky last night and crashing down among crops[1] just off Lower Wall Road in West Hythe. Footage shows the moments after the Second World War plane - which belongs to Biggin Hill-based Spitfire experience company, Fly a Spitfire - came down at about 7pm last night.
The crash occurred just as the world prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Eyewitness Sharon Gooda was at Daleacres Caravan and Motorhome Club when the drama unfolded in the sky above her at the site. "We heard the roar of a Spitfire, so I stood outside the caravan and watched the two-seater as it flew across and turned back around again," the 59-year-old told KentOnline.
"He took a fly over the caravan park but then I went back inside and could still hear them. "But all of a sudden, there was a really low, loud misfiring sound above our heads.
"My husband said, 'That doesn't sound good', and it turned out there were two Spitfires.
"It all went quiet but then one of them started circling the caravan park about four times but then I noticed the caravaners were making their way to the exit. "I asked why they were running that way and someone said, 'I think a Spitfire has gone down'."
The bookkeeper says she saw two people standing outside the aircraft moments after the crash and one caravaner told her they could smell fuel. "The pilot waved to the other Spitfire in the air, which then flew off to Biggin Hill," the Rainham resident added.
"The nose was down in the soil and the tail end was up, while the pilot and passenger were just standing there." Mrs Gooda, who arrived at the site on Friday and has been spending the bank holiday there with her husband, says she was in "disbelief" when she saw the plane in the field[2].
Moments later, people rushed over to help before emergency services - including fire, police and paramedics - arrived at the scene. "I spoke to one of the caravaners who said they noticed both of the Spitfires, who said one of them was coming down towards them and skirted the treetops," she said.
"He must've known he was in trouble as he was losing altitude and that's when he landed.
"It sounded like the engine had cut out totally. "He was lucky he missed the big conifer trees as he wasn't far off touching them.
It could have been a lot worse. "He could have landed in the caravan park - he was really close to the caravans when he started misfiring and landed about 100m away." The plane remained covered up in the field this morning, but a recovery operation is now underway.
A spokesperson for Fly a Spitfire said: "We are aware of an incident involving one of our Spitfire aircraft in the vicinity of Hythe.
"We have spoken to the pilot who has advised a precautionary landing was made at a non-airfield site.
"The pilot and passenger are uninjured and at this stage, we have no further information." KentOnline understands the plane was built in 1943 and entered service with 441 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force, serving with the RAF. Spitfire MJ627's first operational flight was on September 25, 1944, and just two days later, it destroyed Messerschmitt Me 109 over Arnhem.
It was previously involved in an emergency landing in 1998, when its pilot made a "wheels-up landing" at Coventry Airport.
Then, in an aircraft accident investigation report published last year, it was revealed the front cockpit canopy detached from the plane on June 25 during take-off from Biggin Hill Airport.
The aircraft, which has a Rolls-Royce Merlin 266 piston engine, returned to the airport and landed safely and nobody was injured. "The pilot commented that low time on type and distraction during pre-flight preparations contributed to not closing the cockpit side door prior to takeoff," the report states.
"This meant that when the canopy was closed prior to departure it did not latch properly." The report added: "The pilot considered that the safety lesson learned is to close the door before engine start and have the ground crew confirm that it is properly latched.
"The operator issued a crew notice instructing its pilots that the cockpit door must be closed prior to engine start.
"On subsequent passenger flights, the pilot has requested passengers to observe a sterile cockpit approach until the aircraft is airborne and clear of the Aerodrome Traffic Zone." A fire service spokesman said of yesterday's incident: "We were called to an aircraft that had made an emergency landing. "Two fire engines attended, and crews helped to make the scene safe.
"One person was passed into the care of paramedics."
Crews left the scene shortly after 9pm. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) was notified yesterday evening a Spitfire, registration G-BMSB, with the pilot and one passenger on board, experienced a loss of power and the pilot made a controlled forced landing into a field near Hythe. The AAIB was informed no injuries were sustained by the pilot or passenger.
While the AAIB did not deploy a team to the accident site, it will undertake an investigation with the operator to understand the cause of the loss of power.
References
- ^ after dramatically veering out of the sky last night and crashing down among crops (www.kentonline.co.uk)
- ^ when she saw the plane in the field (www.kentonline.co.uk)