Spitfire crash

**itchy** · 01-07-2013 09:03

BBC reporting east midlands airport closed due to a spitfire crashing on runway ,pilot seriously hurt ?

updated now NO ONE HURT thankfully

**Flying Officer Kyte** · 01-07-2013 09:09

This is all I have at the moment.

https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/stat...25399564414977

Rob.

**Attila57** · 01-07-2013 11:34

Some news about it

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-20939051

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...rt-runway.html

The pilot was unhurt.

Attilio

**Flying Officer Kyte** · 01-07-2013 12:10

Typical of the B.E.F. communications.

I live ten miles from East Midlands Airport, and have to rely on the Italian Wing Commander for up to date news on the situation.
Thanks Attilio old bean.

Kyte.

**Freifrau** · 01-07-2013 12:35

Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte

Typical of the B.E.F. communications.

I live ten miles from East Midlands Airport, and have to rely on the Italian Wing Commander for up to date news on the situation.
Thanks Attilio old bean.

Kyte.

Official Secrets Act. The Spit was on a mission...

**Attila57** · 01-07-2013 13:28

Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte

Typical of the B.E.F. communications.

I live ten miles from East Midlands Airport, and have to rely on the Italian Wing Commander for up to date news on the situation.
Thanks Attilio old bean.

Kyte.

**csadn** · 01-07-2013 14:09

[sarcasm]Undercarriage collapse on a Spitfire? Never would have believed it.[/sarcasm]

**bsmith13** · 01-07-2013 19:59

I'm glad no one was hurt and that the damage was relatively minor.

**itchy** · 01-09-2013 04:20

an update on the aircraft involved
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-20949389

**BobP** · 01-09-2013 14:41

I know there is a athread on this but I read today that there are 140 Spits at the Burma sites that are being looked at. I have to find the post about that.

**itchy** · 01-09-2013 23:40

this is latest on the Burma Spits http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20957162

**Jager** · 01-10-2013 03:48

Originally Posted by csadn

[sarcasm]Undercarriage collapse on a Spitfire? Never would have believed it.[/sarcasm]

I wasn't aware that weak undercarrage was a Spitfire fault.
Karl

**Lugburz** · 01-10-2013 08:10

sad news

**csadn** · 01-10-2013 15:50

Originally Posted by Jager

I wasn't aware that weak undercarrage was a Spitfire fault.
Karl

Granted, the problem really became apparent with the Seafire; but any narrow-track landing gear is going to be a pain to work with. (At the moment, any attempts to perform a web search on the topic are impossible, as any mention of the topic links straight back to the above-mentioned accident article.)

**Flying Officer Kyte** · 01-11-2013 01:29

The only thing I could come up with was this from a serving officer :-

"The landing gear can be tricky to handle, as it's narrow stance makes ground loops easy. This becomes more and more a problem as the engine power increased. Be careful when taxiing and taking off or landing."

Also this article from much later.

http://www.touchdown-aviation.com/fl...-ix-g-ccca.php

Not really conclusive evidence given the number of landings that Spits made during the War. If there had been an inherent problem I think we would have heard more about it.

Rob.

**csadn** · 01-11-2013 13:42

Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte

Not really conclusive evidence given the number of landings that Spits made during the War. If there had been an inherent problem I think we would have heard more about it.

Like I said: It mainly cropped up with the Seafire, which had the same landing gear as the land version; the "controlled crash" which was the CV landing really pointed up the design's faults (one will note: The design was never used again). I suspect if one digs deeply enough, one will find a great many of the "accidents" listed for the Spitfire were in fact landing-gear collapses.

That said: The Me-109 was even worse; where the Spit's gear was more-or-less vertical, the -109 had its gear at an angle, which made it even more collapse-prone.

**Baldrick62** · 05-10-2013 05:40

An expensive mistake!

'Spitfire pilot pulling 'wrong lever' caused accident. The WWII aircraft had been recently restored at a cost of £1m. Pilot error was to blame for an accident involving a Spitfire which forced the closure of East Midlands Airport in January.'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-22474805

**Kermit** · 05-10-2013 05:54

Guess that's what insurance is for.

**Guntruck** · 05-10-2013 06:31

Originally Posted by Baldrick62

An expensive mistake!

'Spitfire pilot pulling 'wrong lever' caused accident.

Commonly known as 'finger trouble'.

**Baldrick62** · 05-10-2013 06:44

Or in the RAF 'switch pigs'.

**BobP** · 05-10-2013 13:32

Great news the the pilot was not injured and hope the damage wasn't that bad and can be repaired.

**Lloydthegamer** · 05-10-2013 14:23

I imagine that this will be his last flight.

Originally Posted by Baldrick62

An expensive mistake!

'Spitfire pilot pulling 'wrong lever' caused accident. The WWII aircraft had been recently restored at a cost of £1m. Pilot error was to blame for an accident involving a Spitfire which forced the closure of East Midlands Airport in January.'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-22474805

**Baldrick62** · 05-11-2013 00:51

Originally Posted by BobP

Great news the the pilot was not injured and hope the damage wasn't that bad and can be repaired.

From the AAIB report, hyperlinked in the BBC article at #17 - 'Damage to propeller, lower engine cowling, both radiator
fairings, left flap, left aileron, underside of left wing.'

Not crtitical, but not cheap either, especially as it will require a new set of airworthiness checks if she's ever to get off the ground again.