Date:	Thursday 15 September 2016
Time:	15:20
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire T Mk IX
Owner/operator:	Carolyn Stuart Grace (regd. owner)
Registration:	G-LFIX
MSN:	CBAF.8463
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Sywell Aerodrome, Hall Farm, Sywell, Northamptonshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi
Departure airport:	Northampton/Sywell Aerodrome (ORM/EGBK)
Destination airport:	Northampton/Sywell Aerodrome (ORM/EGBK)
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
Spitfire T IX ML407 was involved in a landing accident during the rollout after landing at Sywell Aerodrome, Hall Farm, Sywell, Northamptonshire, today (Thursday 15 September 2016). No one was injured. The Spitfire was recovered to the Air Leasing hangar at Sywell, and is undergoing repairs.

The aircraft had just completed the second passenger flight of the day and had carried out a normal 3-point landing, when at about 35 kt. the port wing started to drop, the pilot attempted to correct this but the aircraft yawed off the runway to the left onto the grass, coming to rest on its nose. Heavy damage was caused to the propeller with minor damage to the engine cowls, landing gear doors and port wing tip.

=Safety action
In order to prevent the illumination of the complete word “DOWN” in the landing gear position indicator in the event that one landing gear has not achieved the fully locked position, the maintenance organisation modified the landing gear indicator to prevent light from either of the indicator bulbs illuminating the complete down caption.

=Conclusion=
The collapse of the left landing gear was caused by a failure of the landing gear actuator chevron seals, which jammed the actuator before the landing gear had reached the locked position.

The reason for the failure of the chevron seals purchased in 2013 could not be determined.

The modification to the landing gear indicator panel should minimise the possibility of a pilot being unaware of a failure of the landing gear to achieve a locked position.

1. AAIB Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/593ff799ed915d20f8000221/Spitfire_IXT_G-LFIX_07-17.pdf
2. https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/spitfire-crashes-after-landing-at-sywell-aerodrome-1-7581955
3. http://www.daventryexpress.co.uk/news/local/spitfire-crashes-after-landing-at-sywell-aerodrome-1-7581955
4. https://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/spitfire-crashes-after-landing-at-sywell-aerodrome-1-7581955
5. https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/comments/531f62/spitfire_crashes_after_landing_at_sywell_aerodrome/
6. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-LFIX.pdf
7. http://www.ml407.co.uk/
8. https://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=91024d08-aad0-4c4f-ad19-26b9010bf4f2
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sywell_Aerodrome

Spitfire ML407 is known as "The Grace Spitfire", after its owner Carolyn Grace. ML407 was originally built at Castle Bromwich in early 1944 as a Mark IX single seat fighter and served in the front line of battle throughout the last twelve months of World War II with six different allied Squadrons of the RAF’s 2nd Tactical Air Force. ML407 flew a total of 176 operational combat sorties amassing an impressive total 319 combat hours. ML407 was delivered to 485 New Zealand Squadron on the 29th April 1944 by Jackie Moggridge, one of the top lady pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), where it became the ‘mount’ of Flying Officer Johnnie Houlton DFC who was accredited, whilst flying ML407, with the first enemy aircraft shot down over the Normandy beachhead on 6th June D-Day.

In December 1944 ML407 was transferred to 341 Free French Squadron to Sergeant Jean Dabos. It then moved on through various Allied Squadrons – 308 (Polish) Squadron, 349 (Belgian) Squadron, 345 (Free French) Squadron, 332 (Norwegian) Squadron and back to 485 (New Zealand) Squadron at the cessation of hostilities. ML407 then went into a Maintenance Unit where it remained until being selected by Vickers-Armstrongs at Eastleigh, Southampton for conversion in 1950 to the two-seat configuration for the Irish Air Corps as an advanced trainer. ML407 changed to Irish Air Corps \'162\' and flew to Baldonnel Airfield near Dublin. Flying a further 762 hours with the Irish Air Corps the aircraft was put into storage and offered for sale in 1968. Sir William Roberts eventually bought the aircraft for his museum in Strathallan, Perthshire.

Design Engineer Nick Grace, having always wanted to fly a Spitfire, acquired ML407 in late 1979 from the Strathallan Museum and spent five years meticulously restoring the Spitfire to flying condition in its two-seat configuration incorporating what is known as the ‘Grace in line Canopy Conversion’ which Nick designed to remove the bulbous rear canopy to a more streamlined version to keep the original line of the Spitfire intact. Nick completed this incredible project in early 1985 and on the 16th April the Grace Spitfire flew again with Nick’s capable hands at the controls and Carolyn in the rear cockpit. ML407 acquired (but does not wear) the civil registration G-LFIX on 1 February 1980

Nick went on to fly the Spitfire at many Airshows throughout the UK and Europe. A cruel twist of fate occurred when Nick was tragically killed in a car accident in 1988 leaving his widow Carolyn and their two children Olivia aged 5 and Richard aged 4. Carolyn knew there needed to be a member of the Grace family flying ML407, and so took on the immense task of learning to fly the Spitfire.

Carolyn went solo in ML407 in 1990 and the Spitfire became known as the "Grace Spitfire" in tribute to (and in memory of) Nick Grace. Carolyn attained her display authorisation in the Grace Spitfire in 1991 and carried on to add an Aerobatic and Formation qualification over the next two years. Carolyn had displayed the Grace Spitfire for 25 years amassing over 900 hours on Spitfires before retiring from flying in 2017.

Between 1 February 1980 and 22 May 2023, Spitfire MK407/G-LFIX has passed through the hands of seven UK-registered owners. and has been based mostly at Sywell

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

5 March 1986	G-LFIX	Island Trading Ltd. (G-INFO)	0	Southampton Airport (EGHI), Eastleigh, Hampshire, England		sub
31 March 2000	G-LFIX	Private (G-INFO)	0	Duxford Airfield (EGSU), Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England,		sub

Photo: (c) AAIB

RAF Waddington (EGXW), Lincolnshire, UK. - 29th June 1996

ML407 in recovery with Air Leasing team pic.twitter.com/6M5M7BT1L8

— Carolyn Grace (@CGML407) September 16, 2016

ML407 had a minor incident during the rollout after landing at Sywell today No one injured and damage is minor. 407 now safely in our hangar

— Carolyn Grace (@CGML407) September 15, 2016

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
16-Sep-2016 20:02	Anon.	Added
16-Sep-2016 20:30	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
16-Sep-2016 20:34	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Embed code, Narrative]
13-Jul-2017 19:11	harro	Updated [Operator, Embed code, Narrative, Photo, ]
09-Aug-2020 19:07	Peter Clarke	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Total occupants, Nature, Source, Damage, Narrative, Photo]
27-Aug-2023 09:52	Nepa	Updated [[Time, Aircraft type, Total occupants, Nature, Source, Damage, Narrative, Photo]]
07-Apr-2024 07:56	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative, Category]