Maintenance warning after Spitfire engine failure

The World War Two aircraft's propeller and underside were damaged in the emergency landing

A heritage Spitfire was forced to do an emergency landing after its engine stopped mid-flight, investigators have found.

The World War Two aircraft made the emergency landing in a field in West Hythe, Kent, on 3 May due to the "failure, probably age related, of a gasket", the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority subsequently issued a safety notice on the "importance of monitoring and maintaining the airworthiness" of ageing fuel and hydraulic systems.

Fly a Spitfire, which owns the aircraft, said it had noted the safety notice and "fully" supported the AAIB's findings.

The passenger on the plane suffered minor bruising and the pilot was uninjured in the incident, the AAIB said.

The engine on Spitfire MJ627 began vibrating then started cutting out and producing dark smoke 35 minutes into the flight, according to the AAIB report.

Investigators said they found a degraded gasket had created a fuel system leak, which caused the power loss.

The agency found the system was "at least 70-years-old and its last overhaul date was unknown".

Mayday call

The emergency landing damaged the Spitfire's underside and propeller, the report said.

According to the AAIB, the Spitfire pilot opted not to lower the landing gear or jettison the plane's canopy after losing power to reduce drag and glide for longer.

Fly a Spitfire said that the aircraft had "safely returned to service" after "minor" repairs.

The pilot, who is a flying instructor, routinely practiced forced landings, the AAIB said.

He asked the pilot of another Spitfire flying in formation to make a mayday call to air traffic control, investigators wrote.

According to Fly a Spitfire, the pilot "identified a suitable landing area and completed the manoeuvre safely and in full accordance with training and established procedures".

The AAIB said the passenger was an experienced commercial pilot who "remained calm throughout".

Spitfire MJ627 first entered service on 25 September 1944 and, just two days later, destroyed a Messerschmitt Me 109 over Arnhem in the Netherlands.

It was previously involved in an emergency landing in 1998, when its pilot made a "wheels up landing" at Coventry Airport.

The cockpit canopy detached from the plane during a take-off from Biggin Hill Airport in 2024, but it landed safely and neither occupant was harmed.