Spitfire crash-lands on eve of airshow

The owner of a rare Spitfire set to star in the Wings Over Wairarapa airshow escaped uninjured after crash-landing his machine in Masterton yesterday.
The World War II Spitfire Mk IX two-seater, recently imported from Florida after a lengthy rebuild, went down just after 3pm yesterday as owner Doug Brooker prepared to touch down after a flight from Auckland on the eve of the biennial airshow that is expected to attract more than 15,000 people this weekend.
Mr Brooker, who climbed from the plane after coming to a halt at the northern end of Hood Aerodrome runway, declined to make any comment on the incident yesterday.
Wings Over Wairarapa air show director Tom Williams said the crash was the result of an "undercarriage malfunction on landing".
Pieces of the propeller were torn from the plane during the crash-landing and the undercarriage of the machine was also damaged and fuel lines were ruptured.
The plane was to have been the main attraction at the event its debut at a New Zealand airshow but Mr Williams said the machine could be replaced by several other unique aircraft featuring at the air show.
The downed plane is painted in the desert marking of the aircraft flown by Colin Gray, who became New Zealand's highest scoring fighter pilot of WWII.
The Spitfire was to also fly in a unique mock dogfight with a P51 Mustang over Wellington at 1pm today, with 91-year-old Battle of Britain veteran John Pattison aboard.
Mac McCarthy, a plane enthusiast who lives at Hood Aerodrome and second on the scene, was outside on his deck when the plane crashed.
"It's right in front of my house. I didn't see it but I actually heard it. I was talking to someone and we heard an almighty bang and there it was."
He also lamented the destruction of the plane. "It's a Spitfire man, and there's not many of them flying, eh. It's a crying shame, it's a beautiful aircraft.
"The propeller's in bits, the undercarriage is buckled, and it's leaking fuel I'm not going anywhere near it," Mr McCarthy said.
Another witness said he noticed the plane "didn't look right" as it came in to land.
Masterton fire safety officer Henry Stechman said firefighters had cordoned the scene of the crash and ensured leaking fuel was safe from explosion.
"There was a little bit of fuel spilt on the runway, perhaps five or 10 litres, which is par for the course.
"These things happen and it's unfortunate but fortunately no one's been hurt and you can fix an airplane," Mr Stechman said.
Mr Stechman said the incident had been referred to the Civil Aviation Authority.
Civil Aviation Authority spokeswoman Emma Peel said the event was "what we call a heavy landing; it's not a crash".
She said the plane had been taken into its hangar and the operators would fill out an accident report.
"There will be no safety investigator showing up."
If the CAA has any questions after the report, they will then ask the operators in writing.
Ms Peel said for the plane to fly on Saturday, the plane might need to have its Certificate of Airworthiness confirmed by a qualified engineer.
Issued annually, these certificates need to be confirmed after any known event that might affect the safety of the aircraft.