Spitfire bent at Biggin.
 

"Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar Ltd

Spitfire MK912 this afternoon suffered a loss of power after takeoff and forced landed back on the airfield. The aircraft is badly damaged but Pilot Dan Griffith carried out a text book forced landing and is OK."

Well done Dan. Legend.

I often see a Spitfire flying around the village near Biggin where my parents live when I visit. It's a beautiful aircraft to see passing overhead. Very sad to hear this but very glad nobody was hurt.

Textbook landing?
 

Since when was a 180 turn, trading altitude for runway behind you, a textbook procedue for engine failure on takeoff? Surely 30 degrees either side of dead ahead is where you look to land. Is the Spitfire any different in this regard?

Spitfire bent at Biggin.
 

That's the investigation done, no need for the AAIB here.........

Poor little Spitfire :(

More in the fail: BREAKING NEWS: Spitfire crashes at Biggin Hill Airport after 'losing power while taking off' | Daily Mail Online

asdf1234

As with any trade or profession 'textbook procedures' are there to standardise team work and assist/protect others as they build experience.

Since we do not have any information about where the loss of power happened, or what speed or height was involved, anybody who suggests that what the pilot did may not have been for the best are saying more about themselves than the event.

JF

Sadly, John, there are a lot of folk on this forum who claim to know more than the poor chap on the spot.

Looking at pilot Dan Griffith's resume I'd think twice before second guessing his decision making!

Bad day....
 

Quite so.

However, the few pics I've seen show it will need a little more than some bodge tape and a polishing cloth! (The aircraft, not Dan!)

The good news is that I have had an email from Dan and while he is a bit sore in places he sees no reason why he will not be flying in a couple of weeks.

JF

Not much if anything to land on 30 degrees either side of the south-westerly climb out from Biggin apart from a big valley full of houses and trees. In the other direction isn't much better, what with the majority of it being tree-lined small fields with lots of hills and a fairly substantial 400kV pylon line.

Very well done that man for the landing.

Where does the Spitfire come from? Not Boultbee I hope; unless it is a single seater.

RAT 5 it's a single seater, one of about half a dozen flying or under restoration at Biggin Hill.

It was the Heritage Flight Spit. Parked in the Rizon Jet hangar next to our aircraft. I saw the takeoff, but not the prang. The incident was handled well by the airport and the emergency services by all accounts. We only had a 1.5 hour delay for our departure as the ATZ was closed. Glad Dan's OK.

Good news JF

All the best Dan, very well performed - of course.

Asdf1234!

The turn back procedure was taught in RN elementary training in to the early 80s.

By the time I was back there instructing in 1989, it had been dropped from the syllabus, reason being it was thought more dangerous for inexperienced pilots to fly this manoeuvre than to accept what terrain lies ahead.

Key word is inexperienced.

This Spit was not being flown by such a man.

It, and he will fly again. Had he followed your text book, I doubt either would.

Dan & John

Thanks for the good news. Per Ardua...and get back in the air again ASAP.

I'm renewing my PPL again so I can indulge in the more adventurous type of aviating than remaining 1g and erect most of the time. EFATO's have been thrown at me. Surely the adage of 'no turn back' depends on many parameters; e..g height, speed, type of a/c, wind velocity, experience of PF etc. etc. It's not a 'one size fits all' rule. It is a rule of thumb.

Of the many occasions over the last 5 years I've used Biggin, the Spitfire likes to use the Crosswind runway, so does anyone actually know what runway this bird used on the day, For those of who fly out of Biggin on a regular basis. Departing Runway 21, we put it down in the Valley. A turn back is very risky, due to the Village and wooded areas.

Departing RWY 11 and this would make sense, that area is just north of the RWY 29 threshold near the back of the airport, how he ended up in that position I don't know, but it would have made sense if it was a turnback from 11.