Laxton: Aircraft destroyed by fire but pilot escapes

The 1955 Nord NC856A was quickly engulfed by flames after the emergency landing

A light aircraft caught fire during an emergency landing despite a routine take-off, an investigation has found.

The 1955 Nord NC856A took off from Spanhoe Airfield, in Laxton, Northamptonshire, on 23 September, recording normal pre-flight checks.

A report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the engine "misfired and suddenly lost power".

The 54-year-old pilot managed to escape the aircraft without any injuries.

According to the report the pilot smelt fuel just after take-off and after "an initial climb the engine misfired and suddenly lost power".

The 1955 Nord NC856A would have looked similar to this plane pictured flying in Bedfordshire

The AAIB said the pre-take-off engine oil, temperature and power checks had been normal, with fuel consumption and performance levels "as expected".

The pilot was able to make an emergency landing within the airfield, before a "flash fire on the port side of the aircraft" as it came to a halt, the AAIB said.

Airfield staff tried to put out the flames with fire extinguishers but the aircraft was rapidly destroyed by the fire, it said.

Although the investigation did not find a cause of the fire, the AAIB said it was "likely a failure of the fuel system in the engine bay".

The report concluded that the failure enabled aviation fuel "to be ignited on hot engine surfaces, causing a fuel fed fire which then rapidly consumed the aircraft".

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