(Pictures: Jim Bennett/Lee Williams)
A Spitfire pilot who crash landed in a field saved the life of his passenger who was on a birthday trip, says a witness.
The World War Two plane was forced to make an emergency landing on a field near Lower Wall Road in West Hythe, Kent on Saturday evening, just days before the VE Day celebrations across the UK.
The pilot and a passenger managed to walk out of the aircraft unhurt.
Lee Williams, 55, was on holiday with his wife Nicola at a nearby campsite when they noticed two historic warplanes circling overhead.
They then heard an engine misfiring, before a ‘thud’ noise.
Mr Williams said he sprinted towards the field and saw parts of the aircraft scattered among the crops.
He told the MailOnline he had expected to see a plane in a ball of flames and was amazed and relieved to find the pilot and the passenger uninjured.
‘The two guys on board had already got out of it,’ he explained. ‘The pilot was on the phone to someone, so I spoke with the passenger, an American guy from Colorado.
‘He was given the flight as an experience from his boss, they had flown from Biggin Hill, it was a birthday present.’
Mr Williams said he praised the pilot, who ‘did an absolutely great job with the false landing’, and gave him a high-five.
‘It was unbelievable that he didn’t do more damage,’ he said, adding that two lives were saved that day thanks to the pilot’s actions.
Fire crews and paramedics arrived at the scene soon after, at around 7.25pm.
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Another eyewitness described the moments before the hair-raising landing: ‘We were on our way home from shopping and saw another Spitfire circling, which we thought was unusual – maybe practising for a VE-Day ceremony.
‘We continued driving and then came across the plane that had just crash-landed. The pilot and passenger were luckily out of the aircraft.’
The fire service said: ‘Two fire engines attended, and crews helped make the scene safe. One person was passed into the care of SECAmb paramedics.’
Fly a Spitfire, a company which owns the plane, said in a statement on social media that the pilot made a ‘precautionary landing.’
A spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of an incident involving one of our Spitfire aircraft in the vicinity of Hythe.
‘We have spoken to the pilot who has advised that a precautionary landing was made at a non-airfield site.
‘The pilot and passenger are uninjured and at this stage we have no further information.’
Writing underneath the post, one Kent resident said: ‘We see and hear her fly over Speldhurst very frequently I’m so glad both the plane and occupants are safe.’
Another person wrote: ‘So glad they managed to get out safely. Great airmanship demonstrated by the pilot to get the Spitfire down in one piece. Planes can get repaired but loss of lives cannot.’
What kind of plane was involved?
The Spitfire aircraft involved in the close-call incident is thought to be a two-seat T9 trainer variant, which was originally a Mark IXc version built in 1943.
After entering service with the 441 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force and serving with the RAF, she flew her first mission on September 25, 1944.
She shot down a German ME 109 over Arnhem, Netherlands, during Operation Market Garden.
It is not known what caused the emergency landing.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has been notified about the incident, Metro understands.
While the watchdog did not send a team to the accident site, it will carry out an investigation to the incident, it is thought.
The hamlet of West Hythe is located around nine miles west of Folkestone on the Kent coast and less than two miles from the sea.
Like large parts of the UK, the weather in the West Hythe area was sunny on Saturday.
Wind gusts reached around 18mph at about 6pm.
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