A rare Second World War-era Spitfire was forced to crash-land in a field in West Hythe on Saturday evening, just hours before VE Day commemorations were set to begin across the UK.
The vintage aircraft, a two-seater Spitfire MJ627, made what its operator described as a “precautionary landing” in a crop field on Lower Wall Road, narrowly avoiding catastrophe.
Despite significant damage to the aircraft's propeller, the airframe remained intact, and both the pilot and passenger escaped unharmed.
The aircraft is owned by Fly a Spitfire, a vintage flight experience company based in the UK. In a statement, the company confirmed:
“We have spoken to the pilot, who advised that a precautionary landing was made at a non-airfield site. The pilot and passenger are uninjured.”
The aircraft lost power mid-flight, prompting the emergency descent. Emergency services, including Kent Fire and Rescue Service, were dispatched to the scene at 19:25 BST, deploying two fire engines to secure the area.
One of the two occupants was treated at the scene by paramedics as a precaution. Fire crews left the site around 9pm.
Spitfire MJ627 is no ordinary aircraft. It was delivered into service in September 1944, and famously shot down a Messerschmitt Me 109 just two days later during Operation Market Garden over Arnhem.
The aircraft has since become a living piece of aviation history, appearing in airshows and offering passenger flights.
This is not the first emergency for MJ627. In 1998, it made a “wheels-up landing” at Coventry Airport, and in 2024, its cockpit canopy detached during take-off from Biggin Hill — though both incidents resulted in safe landings and no injuries.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has launched an inquiry into Saturday's incident to determine the exact cause of the power failure.
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