Remarkably fair and accurate report in
The Times Hawker Sea Fury T.20 WG655 (G-INVN) down near Duxford
Second World War fighter plane crashes in Cambridgeshire field
A pilot and a passenger suffered minor injuries when their Second World War-era fighter plane crashed in a field in Cambridgeshire yesterday.
The Hawker Sea Fury was operated by the Norwegian Spitfire Foundation. It set out from the Imperial War Museum’s airfield at Duxford, ten miles south of Cambridge. The plane, among the last propeller-driven fighters to serve with the Royal Navy, suffered an engine failure with one passenger on board. The pilot, Captain Eskil Amdal, made an emergency landing near by.
Footage and pictures from the crash site showed the aircraft split in pieces with its nose in trees on the edge of a field. Captain Amdal and his passenger climbed out of the plane and were taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital with minor injuries.
A spokesman for the foundation, a charity dedicated to maintaining historic planes and commemorating the Norwegian air force, said: “Chief pilot Eskil Amdal did a very good job getting the aircraft down. Eskil and his passenger suffered only minor injuries.”
A spokeswoman for East of England Ambulance Service said: “We were called to Harston about 4.20pm yesterday after receiving reports of a plane crash. We sent two ambulances, two hazardous area response teams, an ambulance officer and rapid response vehicle. Crews treated two patients at the scene before transporting them to Addenbrooke’s Hospital for further assessment and care.”
The first prototyes of the Hawker Fury and Sea Fury were built in 1942. In 1944, the RAF ordered 200 of the Fury models. Another 200 Sea Fury planes were ordered for the Fleet Air Arm. During the Korean War the Sea Fury was the Navy’s only single-seat fighter plane. It was eventually replaced by the Hawker Sea Hawk jet fighter.
A spokeswoman for the Imperial War Museum (IWM) said: “Following an incident involving a Hawker Sea Fury aircraft which departed from Duxford airfield yesterday afternoon on a routine flight, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch will undertake a full investigation.
“The aircraft had to carry out a procedural forced landing on local farm land and sustained significant damage and a fuel leak. An IWM Duxford fire team with specialist equipment and knowledge assisted Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service at the scene. The pilot and passenger remain in a stable condition having sustained minor injuries.”