What happened
On 2 August 1998, a Spitfire Mk.PR.XI, registration G-MKXI, was participating in a display flight at Woodchurch, Ashford, Kent. Earlier that morning, the pilot had completed an uneventful landing on Runway 03 under a northerly wind of 12 kt. At 1600 hrs, the aircraft departed for its scheduled display flight.
Following the conclusion of the display, the pilot attempted to land on Runway 03. Although the approach speed was lower than the pilot's previous landing of the day, the aircraft failed to stop within the available runway length and overran the end of the strip. The incident resulted in substantial damage to the propeller, spinner, and nose panels. There were no injuries to the pilot.
The investigation
The investigation examined the environmental conditions and the landing sequence. The pilot noted that the surface wind had dropped to calm conditions and suggested that the accident was caused by a failure to notice the change in wind, noting that the windsock was not visible from the Runway 03 threshold. However, analysis of a video recording of the landing revealed that the aircraft experienced several bounces before making firm contact with the runway. This sequence of bounces delayed the application of effective braking until a late stage in the landing roll.