What happened
On September 7, 2007, a Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX, registration PH-OUQ, was performing a demonstration flight at Gilze-Rijen Air Base. The aircraft, operated by the Stichting Koninkly Air Force Historical Flight, completed a ten-minute flight without incident until the landing phase.
During the approach to runway 28, the pilot opted to land beyond the intersection with the north-south runway to avoid expected turbulence. The aircraft touched down approximately two meters left of the centerline with a ten-degree leftward angle of attack. As the aircraft continued down the runway, the pilot attempted to correct the aircraft's position toward the right. This maneuver resulted in a groundloop, during which the main landing gear collapsed. The aircraft eventually came to a halt in the grass on the right side of the runway. The pilot was uninjured, but the aircraft sustained significant damage, including a broken left machine gun, damaged propeller tips, and damage to the left wingtip and pitot tube.
The investigation
The investigation, conducted by the Royal Netherlands Air Force with support from the operator, examined the aircraft's technical condition and the environmental factors present during the landing. Technical inspections of the Supermarine Spitable Mk IX confirmed that the landing gear and control systems were in good working order prior to the accident.
Investigators analyzed tire marks on the runway, which revealed that while the main wheels initially touched down simultaneously, the right track disappeared as the aircraft moved down the runway. This indicated a loss of control over the lateral drift. The investigation also noted that the sun was positioned low on the horizon, approximately 10 degrees above it, shining almost directly from the west into the pilot's field of vision.
Findings
Several contributing factors led to the loss of control during the landing sequence:
- The pilot experienced difficulty estimating the degree of drift due to the low sun angle and the lack of sunglasses, which caused glare.
- There was insufficient aileron control to counteract the crosswind component.
- The pilot applied full right rudder and differential braking to correct the aircraft's path; however, because there was insufficient weight on the right main gear due to the crosswind, the rudder input caused the tail to swing to the left.
- The combination of inadequate crosswind correction and excessive rudder input triggered the groundloop.