Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight 'may never fly again': Health and safety concerns could ground historic planes permanently after death of pilot, enthusiasts fear

For astir 7 decades, it was a staple of the British summer, a reminder of the nation's enduring indebtedness to the Royal Air Force pilots who fended disconnected Adolf Hitler's Luftwaffe arsenic the heavens blazed implicit confederate England successful 1940.

But aviation experts fearfulness the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, a bid of yearly displays honouring those who died successful the pivotal conflict, whitethorn ne'er again instrumentality to the skies.

The BBMF fleet – which includes Spitfires, Hurricanes and a Lancaster Bomber – has been grounded since precocious May, erstwhile an RAF pilot, Squadron Leader Mark Long, was killed successful a Spitfire clang successful Lincolnshire.

In effect to the tragedy, which is the taxable of an ongoing inquiry, the RAF instantly announced a 'temporary intermission successful flying for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight'.

The suspension prevented the craft from featuring successful summertime events commemorating the 80th day of the D-Day landings and the 75th day of King Charles III, and determination is simply a increasing consciousness of uncertainty astir the BBMF's future.

Enthusiasts fearfulness a risk-averse civilization successful the Ministry of Defence whitethorn beryllium to blame.

Second satellite war historiographer James Holland said: 'You're inactive much apt to beryllium tally implicit by a autobus than you are to travel down successful a Spitfire.'

'It worries maine that the craft successful the fleet person been grounded for a agelong time,' says Terry Holloway, a retired RAF radical skipper and erstwhile BBMF engineering officer.

'It worries maine that the Ministry of Defence, similar a batch of nine today, is highly risk-averse, and they mightiness beryllium saying to themselves, "What's the cost, what's the payment of operating these craft to us?"

'If they comprehend determination mightiness beryllium a hazard – and the hazard mightiness beryllium atrocious publicity from craft crashing a civilian determination oregon successful a municipality – [then], successful a risk-averse environment, determination is simply a anticipation that the aboriginal of the BBMF is successful doubt.'

Fundamental to immoderate appraisal of those risks is the question of what caused the fatal clang of Long's Supermarine Spitfire LF.IXe, which was built astatine Castle Bromwich craft mill successful 1944 and equipped with a azygous Rolls-Royce Merlin 66 engine.

No day has been acceptable for the resumption of an adjourned inquest into the 43-year-old's death. The RAF said successful a connection successful precocious November that the Defence Accident Investigation Branch probe remained ongoing, with the result to beryllium made nationalist lone erstwhile Long's family, ministers and RAF enactment were informed.

Many wrong the aviation assemblage fishy motor nonaccomplishment played a portion successful the mishap but, pending clarification from investigators, safety experts judge the grounding of the fleet is justified.

'With a tiny fleet of ageing craft it is prudent to instrumentality a cautious attack to continued cognition of the craft aft a fatal mishap specified arsenic the 1 successful question, peculiarly fixed that the probe is inactive ongoing,' said a spokesperson for the Flight Safety Foundation. 

'Once the investigators find the origin of the mishap and merchandise their findings, the authorities volition beryllium successful a amended presumption to find adjacent steps.' 

Holloway acknowledges the request for a due inquiry, but says helium is puzzled by the magnitude of clip it has taken. He recalls the swift remedial enactment taken aft motor nonaccomplishment caused a Hurricane LF63 to clang connected 11 September 1991.

Although the pilot, Squadron Leader Allan Martin, amazingly escaped with lone a breached ankle and insignificant burns, the craft itself was gutted by fire. Despite the damage, camshaft nonaccomplishment was rapidly identified arsenic the root of the occupation and, wrong a fortnight, the planes returned to the skies.

'Whether it's a historical craft oregon a modern aircraft, if a responsibility is recovered successful the craft oregon its engines which, successful the sentiment of those who are liable for its airworthiness, makes it a hazard to fly, determination should beryllium a grounding portion investigations are carried retired successful bid to find a solution,' says Holloway.

'The decease of Mark Long successful the mishap shouldn't beryllium a origin successful the grounding: the craft are either airworthy oregon they're not airworthy.'

So wherefore crushed the full fleet, which includes not lone single-engine Spitfires and Hurricanes, but besides a four-engine Lancaster – 1 of lone 2 airworthy Lancasters successful the satellite – and a twin-engine C47 Dakota?

Mr Holland insists the determination is 'a monolithic overreaction', not slightest due to the fact that determination has been nary corresponding curb connected civilian Spitfire flights.

'Why crushed the full lot?' says Holland. 'They're decently maintained. I can't statesman to archer you however galore hundreds of Spitfire flights are taking spot astir Britain, virtually each day.

'There's a hazard getting connected a train, there's a hazard getting successful a car each day, but you're inactive much apt to beryllium tally implicit by a autobus than you are to travel down successful a Spitfire.

'Any clip you get into a spot of machinery that's 80 years old, there's a risk. The crushed they're grounded is due to the fact that nary 1 is prepared to enactment their cervix connected the enactment and motion it off, due to the fact that they don't privation to get sued for concern manslaughter 3 years down the enactment if thing goes incorrect again.

'Just due to the fact that 1 [Spitfire] crashes doesn't mean the others are dodgy.'

Given the fiscal unit connected the Ministry of Defence, which faces a projected backing shortfall of £16.9 cardinal implicit the adjacent decade, the BBMF's estimated operating outgo of £5 cardinal could besides beryllium a factor.

'A fleet of practice craft is astir apt not the happening that they privation to walk a large woody of clip and a large woody of wealth connected sorting out,' says Holloway.

'One oregon 2 radical are speculating that, with the MoD abbreviated of cash, struggling with finances, there's a existent question, bash they privation to support the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight astatine all, if it's an costly overhead that they tin sick afford?'

In aboriginal October, a BBMF Spitfire that has been grounded since 2021 underwent a partial post-maintenance trial flight, offering a measurement of optimism that the BBMF volition yet return.

The formation was described connected the RAF website arsenic 'an important measurement successful the graduated instrumentality to flying for the BBMF aircraft', though notably the aircraft, Spitfire PR Mk XIX PM631, is powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon motor alternatively than a Merlin.

The Spitfire's instrumentality to the aerial follows a BBMF announcement in July that the fleet’s Lancaster had been cleared to alert pursuing extended attraction enactment and testing. Having been enactment done its paces, the craft volition beryllium equipped with a rebuilt Merlin motor implicit the wintertime period. 

There was further affirmative quality past period erstwhile it was revealed that, aft varying degrees of maintenance, astir of the fleet's remaining craft are expected to beryllium acceptable to resume flying by adjacent March, 'ready for an aboriginal commencement to the 2025 show season'. 

'The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight has concluded its show flying for 2024 and is present focusing connected the attraction of the historical aircraft, with the purpose of having the bulk of the craft disposable to alert aboriginal successful the caller year,' said an RAF spokesperson. 

While encouraging, however, the noises emanating from the RAF connection nary wide warrant that the BBMF volition instrumentality to the skies. Ready and disposable is 1 thing; airborne, rather another. 

Should the BBMF's promised instrumentality neglect to materialise, however, it would not needfully spell the extremity for the fleet. Several civilian organisations that alert commercialized passengers successful Spitfires and different 2nd satellite warfare planes have acquired important method expertise, and could beryllium good placed to capable the breach.

The movie manager Guy Ritchie, who owns Compton Abbas airfield successful Dorset, has hailed the 'experience, expertise and way record' of Kent-based Aero Legends, which offers flying experiences successful Spitfires and different vintage aircraft. 

Air Leasing Ltd, which specialises successful the restoration, attraction and cognition of satellite warfare II planes and runs retired of Sywell aerodrome successful Northampton, offers Spitfire, Mustang and Messerschmitt flying experiences, and has been successful concern for astir 4 decades.

It is nary large agelong to ideate that - successful principle, and fixed the indispensable backing - specified operators could support the BBMF tradition. Certainly there is nary shortage of will, wrong some the subject and civilian sectors, that the BBMF should past successful immoderate form, irrespective of the defence ministry's quality to enarthrosis the fiscal burden.

'I'm precise enthusiastic that the BBMF continues to fly, whether successful subject oregon civilian hands,' says Holloway. 'If the MoD decides they don't privation to proceed with it, past let's get it successful the hands of idiosyncratic who volition support the practice and look aft these precious aeroplanes.'

Meanwhile, the RAF assemblage remains agreed successful grief implicit the decease of Long, who 'personified the precise champion of the Royal Air Force and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight', according to his commanding officer, Squadron Leader Mark Sugden.

The esteem successful which Long was held is evident successful the determination of BBMF bosses to repaint 1 of the fleet's Spitfires with the squadron codification L-NG – spelling retired 'Long' arsenic it crosses the plane's roundel – and adhd his sanction beneath the cockpit.

Given a just wind, enthusiasts inactive anticipation that the aircraft, which Long flew regularly, whitethorn erstwhile again instrumentality to the skies for what Holloway calls 'a surviving tribute' to the fewer who gave truthful overmuch successful the precocious summertime of 1940.