What happened
On 6 May 2024, a Spitfire Mk IX, registration G-LFIX, was conducting a private flight near Sywell, Northants. The aircraft was on its third flight of the following day, carrying one passenger. As the pilot approached the airfield, he performed the standard procedure of transferring the fuel supply from the wing tanks to the fuselage tank in preparation for landing.
Approximately 30 seconds after this selection, the engine began to surge and subsequently failed. The pilot attempted to restart the engine by re-selecting the wing tanks and using aircraft maneuvers to induce fuel flow, but the engine would not restart. With the aircraft at approximately 2,000 ft agl, the pilot determined that landing at the intended destination was not possible and instead opted for a forced landing at Pitsford Airfield, a private grass strip.
During the landing approach, the pilot utilized S-turns to manage excess energy. As the aircraft decelerated near the end of the 500 m strip, the pilot turned to avoid a hedge. During this maneuver, the right landing gear entered soft ground, causing the aircraft to pitch forward onto its nose. The incident resulted in no fatalities or injuries, but caused damage to the propeller, the left wingtip, and a buckled rear spar on the left wing.
The investigation
The AAIB investigation established that the engine failure was caused by fuel starvation. While the wing tanks contained approximately 60 imperial gallons of fuel, the fuselage tank was found to be empty.
The investigation revealed that during a previous flight earlier that day, the pilot had inadvertently failed to transfer the fuel supply from the fuselage tank to the wing tanks after takeoff. This error went unnoticed because the pilot was distracted during pre-flight checks for the subsequent flight and did not verify the fuselage tank level. Consequently, the fuselage tank was depleted during the second flight. When the pilot switched back to the fuselage tank for the final landing approach, the engine was supplied with air instead of fuel.
Findings
- The engine loss of power was due to fuel starvation resulting from the depletion of the fuselage tank.
- An air lock was created in the fuel inlet when the electrical pump continued to run after the fuel was exhausted.
- The pilot failed to transfer the fuel supply to the wing tanks after the takeoff of the second flight of the day.
- Two opportunities to identify the low fuel level were missed: during the approach of the second flight and during the pre-flight checks of the third flight.
- Distractions during pre-flight checks prevented the pilot from noticing the reduced fuel level in the fuselage tank.
Safety action
- The operator has updated operating procedures to require pilots to confirm the contents of the fuselage tank before switching the fuel supply to it.