What we know about Spitfire that made emergency crash landing days before VE Day celebrations

Yahoo

04-05-2025

A Spitfire was forced to make an emergency crash-landing in a field just days before VE Day.
The historic aircraft - which had two people onboard - veered out of the sky before crashing down among crops in West Hythe, Kent on Saturday evening (3 May).
The crash-landing occurred in the lead-up to celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day on Monday but it is not clear if the plane's flight was connected to the event.
Witnesses said the plane "misfired above a caravan park" and "narrowly" missed trees before it crashed, while video footage shows the plane heading towards the ground.
The plane is owned by Fly A Spitfire, confirmed the crash in a statement on its website, saying: "We are aware of an incident involving one of our Spitfire aircraft.
"We can confirm that 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."
A spokesman for the fire service said two fire engines had attended after being called to an aircraft that had made an emergency landing. Crews helped to make the scene safe and one person was passed into the care of paramedics, the spokesman said.
Eyewitness Sharon Gooda, 59, who was at the Daleacres Caravan and Motorhome Club when the drama unfolded, said: "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.
"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."
She added: "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 Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it had been notified about the incident, and while it has not sent a team to the accident site,will undertake an investigation with the operator to understand the cause of the loss of power.
It is not know exactly what happened to lead to the emergency landing. While eyewitnesses have reported the sound of a plane misfiring, the company that owns it has only issued a statement confirming the "precautionary landing" and that the pilot and passenger are uninjured.
It is also not know whether the flight being carried out by the Spitfire was connected to forthcoming VE Day celebrations or unrelated.
Among efforts to mark VE Day, more than 20 planes will take part in a flypast over Buckingham Palace, including World War Two Lancaster bombers, the Red Arrows.
Some reports have suggested the Spitfire involved in the landing was practising for a flypast, but this has not been confirmed.
It is also not know who was flying the aircraft, and who the passenger was.
King 'looking forward' to VE Day events to thank wartime generation for service (PA Media)
Do you remember these VE day celebrations? (East Anglian Daily Times)
What VE Day was really like - 80 years on (Sky News)