• The aircraft caught fire during an emergency landing.
• Due to a failure of the fuel system in the engine bay.
• Allowing aviation fuel to ignite on hot engine surfaces.

Investigation reveals that despite a routine takeoff, a light aircraft caught fire during an emergency landing in Laxton.

On September 23, 1955, the Nord NC856A took off from Spanhoe Airfield in Laxton, Northamptonshire, after performing the usual pre-flight tests.

The engine “misfired and quickly lost power,” according to an Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) assessment.

The 54-year-old pilot was able to leave the plane without suffering any wounds.

According to the report the pilot smelt fuel just after take-off and after “an initial climb the engine misfired and suddenly lost power”.

The pre-takeoff engine oil, temperature, and power checks had been normal, according to the AAIB, with fuel consumption and performance levels “as expected”.

The pilot was able to make an emergency landing within the airfield, before a “flash fire on the port side of the aircraft” as it came to a halt, the AAIB said.

Although the investigation did not find a cause of the fire, the AAIB said it was “likely a failure of the fuel system in the engine bay”.

The malfunction allowed aviation fuel to “ignite on hot engine surfaces, generating a fuel fed fire which then swiftly devoured the aircraft,” according to the report’s conclusion.

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