MartinW 0 Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 This was at the weekend, in Cambridgeshire. Landing gear failed to deploy.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y5iqnhoo4o A pilot was forced to carry out an emergency landing in his replica Spitfire in high winds and without wheels when the plane's landing gear failed to engage.The aircraft was flying at Sibson Airfield in Cambridgeshire on Saturday morning when the pilot radioed airfield bosses to say he couldn't release his landing gear.Skydivers jumping at the airfield near Peterborough were delayed for more than 20 minutes as the pilot circled in a bid to burn fuel before making his approach.Emergency services arrived at the scene just as the plane - a replica of the single-seat fighters that fought in the Battle of Britain 75 years ago - was carefully flown towards the ground in strong winds.But amazingly he managed to land the Spitfire without any landing gear, skillfully skimming the aircraft over the grass on its belly before it came to a rapid stop.Onlookers said the propeller fell off when it came to a safe stop, and the relieved pilot emerged completely unharmed. Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Looks like a "Mark 24/26" Spitfire - one of the smaller replicas, as stated in the article. Still, not a very nice experience to go through! Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 The pilot did a good job under pressure, it's a good job it didn't flip. Link to post Share on other sites
wain 879 Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 good landing with no wheels, like you say lucky nothing dug in........ Link to post Share on other sites
Quickmarch 488 Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Nice landing! One very relieved pilot, I'm sure. Shame he couldn't stop the engine before the landing - might have saved some expensive bits. Safer to come in with the fuel and switches off, in any case. Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Skillfully done, now comes the expensive bit! Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 if only every crash land ended this way; awesome piloting right there! Link to post Share on other sites
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