Spitfire crash-lands after losing power
A Spitfire has crash-landed in a field after apparently losing power.
Emergency services were called to the scene in West Hythe, near Folkestone, Kent, on Saturday at around 7.30pm.
Kent Fire and Rescue Service said the pilot and passenger were able to get out of the vintage fighter plane and paramedics treated one of the pair.
Images from the incident show the plane on its belly and damage to the propeller.
The Air Accident Investigation Branch said it was looking into the incident.
The plane is operated by restoration business Fly a Spitfire, based at Biggin Hill, south-east London.
It said: 'We can confirm that a precautionary landing was made at a non-airfield site.
'The pilot and passenger are uninjured. Spitfire flight operations will continue as planned.'
A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: 'We were called to Lower Wall Road, West Hythe, 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.'
The Spitfire involved in the incident is a two-seat T9 trainer variant – originally a Mark IXc version built in 1943. It entered service with 441 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force, serving with the RAF.
The plane flew its first operational sortie on Sept 25 1944, and two days later shot down a German ME 109 over Arnhem during Operation Market Garden.
Witnesses claim the aircraft may have been practising a flypast for a VE Day ceremony, however the company denied this claim when approached by The Telegraph.
One told KentOnline: 'We were on our way home from shopping and saw a Spitfire circling.'
She said she had watched the plane for a few minutes while driving before suddenly coming across the crashed aircraft.
'We contacted the farmer to make them aware and to get the gate opened,' she added.
It was reported that a 'really low, loud misfiring sound' was heard before the crash-landing.
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