Fatal Spitfire crash 'likely' due to medical episode

Trevor Bailey "lost his life following his passion", his wife previously said

A fatal crash involving a replica Spitfire was "more likely than not" caused by the pilot suffering a medical episode and losing control, an inquest jury has concluded.

The aircraft came down in a field beside the A44 near Enstone, Oxfordshire, shortly after 15:00 BST on 22 August 2023.

The sole occupant, 68-year-old Trevor Bailey from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A pathologist told the inquest at Oxford Coroner's Court Mr Bailey would have died instantly, before the plane burst into flames, due to significant traumatic head injuries.

Dr Brett Lockyer, a consultant forensic pathologist, said there were extensive burns to Mr Bailey's body, but no evidence of soot in his lungs or airways and that toxicology tests had ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning.

The jury was told Mr Baily had a history of heart disease and had suffered a heart attack in 2005.

He had been taking statins to control his cholesterol, but was described as "fit" by his GP.

Dr Lockyer said although there was no evidence of recent deterioration in Mr Bailey's health, he could not rule out the "possibility" his heart played a role in the crash.

The kit-built aircraft crashed in August 2023

Mr Bailey, a highly experienced pilot and member of the Light Aircraft Association, had been testing Molly, a kit-built plane built in 2019.

Eyewitnesses described seeing the right wing drop before the aircraft went into a spin, hit the ground and burst into flames.

A report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) in June 2024 was inconclusive.

A medical cause could not be ruled out, while defects found on the plane were "not considered to be a causal factor", the AAIB said.

Its report concluded: "The aircraft was found to have been built with a misaligned fin and rudder.

"This misalignment made a wing drop at the stall more likely, but it did not prevent or restrict a recovery from the stall nor any subsequent spin or spiral dive that might develop.

"There was sufficient height for a recovery from a spin or spiral dive."

Today an inquest jury recorded a narrative verdict stating that Mr Bailey was an experienced pilot who had a history of heart disease and it was "more likely than not" he suffered a medical episode and lost control of the aircraft.

Previously, his four children said their "lives will never be the same" after the loss of "our hero".

In a tribute posted on social media, his wife, Kate Dove, said: "He lost his life following his passion."

Enstone Flying Club skipper Paul Fowler described Mr Bailey as a "great aerobatic pilot [and] formation pilot" who would be "really missed in the aviation community".