{"id":26488561,"date":"2026-10-04T12:13:34","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T10:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/bbmf-spitfire-mk356-crash-inquiry-carburettor-debris-mark-long\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T12:13:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T10:13:59","slug":"bbmf-spitfire-mk356-crash-inquiry-carburettor-debris-mark-long","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/bbmf-spitfire-mk356-crash-inquiry-carburettor-debris-mark-long\/","title":{"rendered":"Spitfire MK356 Crash: RAF Inquiry Blames Decades-Old Carburettor Debris"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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That is how long <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/supermarine-spitfire\/\">Spitfire<\/a> MK356 had been airborne on the afternoon of 25 May 2024 before it came down in a field near <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-bases\/coningsby\/\">RAF Coningsby<\/a> in Lincolnshire, killing its pilot, Squadron Leader Mark Long of the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/display-teams\/battle-of-britain-memorial-flight\/\">Battle of Britain Memorial Flight<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On 1 October 2026, the Ministry of Defence published the Service Inquiry report into the crash. Its central finding is almost unbearably mundane: a piece of debris in the carburettor, which chemical analysis showed had been there for decades, starved the 80-year-old fighter's Merlin engine of fuel just after take-off.<\/p>\n<p>The report, which runs to 26 safety recommendations, also found that the paperwork meant to keep the aircraft safe was itself part of the problem.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IXe, serial MK356, built in March 1944<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Operator:<\/strong> RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF)<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Pilot:<\/strong> Squadron Leader Mark Long, 43, killed<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Date:<\/strong> 25 May 2024, 56 seconds after take-off from RAF Coningsby<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Engine:<\/strong> Rolls-Royce Merlin 66<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Cause:<\/strong> Debris in the carburettor \"very likely\" caused fuel starvation and loss of thrust<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Contributing factor:<\/strong> Contradictory maintenance publications for the carburettor<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Report:<\/strong> MoD Service Inquiry, published 1 October 2026, with 26 recommendations<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">An 80-year-old fighter, 56 seconds after take-off<\/h2>\n<p>MK356 was one of the most historically important aircraft in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Built in March 1944 with a Merlin 66 engine optimised for low altitude, it was allocated to the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/royal-canadian-air-force\/\">Royal Canadian Air Force<\/a>'s No. 144 Wing and flew fighter sweeps over occupied France in the weeks before D-Day.<\/p>\n<p>After the war it spent decades as a gate guardian at RAF Hawkinge and RAF Locking before being recovered in 1992 and restored to fly with the BBMF. From 2017 it wore the desert colours of No. 92 Squadron in Tunisia in 1943, the scheme it carried on its final flight.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/spitfire-mk356-bbmf-2018.jpg\" alt=\"BBMF Spitfire MK356 in desert camouflage in flight\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">MK356 in the desert scheme of No. 92 Squadron, photographed in 2018. Photo: Ronnie Macdonald \/ CC BY 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>On 25 May 2024, Mark Long took off from Coningsby for a display. The Service Inquiry found that the engine lost the thrust needed to maintain powered flight less than a minute later. The Spitfire came down in a field near the base, and Long, a 43-year-old former Harrier and Typhoon pilot in his fourth season with the BBMF, was killed.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ugSNBa2Jcvk\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:-12px;font-style:italic\">Sky News report from May 2024, as Squadron Leader Mark Long was named as the pilot killed in the crash near RAF Coningsby.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What the inquiry found<\/h2>\n<p>According to reporting on the report by the BBC, FlightGlobal and The Telegraph, investigators concluded that debris inside the carburettor was \"very likely\" the cause. It restricted the flow of fuel to the engine, producing \"a loss of thrust required to maintain powered flight\".<\/p>\n<p>The most striking detail came from chemical analysis of the debris. It showed the material \"had been present for decades\". In other words, the problem had been sitting inside the fuel system long before MK356's final season, undetected through years of maintenance.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Multiple, contradictory publications created ambiguity over the correct procedures for carburettor maintenance.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>MoD Service Inquiry report<\/strong> &mdash; as quoted by the BBC, October 2026<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<p>That was the contributing factor that will matter most to anyone who maintains historic aircraft. The inquiry found that conflicting manuals and weak document control left room for doubt about how the carburettor should be serviced. Its 26 recommendations include better maintenance records, a review of cockpit protection and improved emergency training.<\/p>\n<p>The report also identified the Spitfire's cockpit design and restraint system as aggravating factors in the pilot's injuries. But it acknowledged that structural changes to protect the pilot would compromise the aircraft's historic authenticity and could even affect its airworthiness, the dilemma at the heart of flying any 80-year-old warbird.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/spitfire-mk356-silver-scheme-2011.jpg\" alt=\"Spitfire MK356 in silver finish landing\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">MK356 in an earlier silver scheme with Royal Canadian Air Force-style markings, photographed in 2011. Photo: Tony Hisgett \/ CC BY 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Remembering Mark Long<\/h2>\n<p>Long earned his wings in 2004, flew the Harrier GR7 and GR9 and the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/eurofighter-typhoon\/\">Eurofighter Typhoon<\/a>, spent a decade as an instructor on No. 29 Squadron and was the RAF's Typhoon display pilot in 2016. He lived in Lincolnshire with his wife and two daughters.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Mark lived his life with unwavering passion, laughter, love, and dedication to his family.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Mark Long's family<\/strong> &mdash; Eulogy published by the Royal Air Force, 2024<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<p>The BBMF returned to the air after the crash, and in July 2024 its Spitfire TE311 was repainted on one side with the code L-NG and Long's name under the cockpit in his memory. His commanding officer, Squadron Leader Mark Sugden, said he would remain \"the best boss that BBMF never had\".<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=2106398880707301505&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:400px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p>The inquiry describes its recommendations as robust, saying they \"should minimise the likelihood of a recurrence or similar tragedy\". For the people who keep these aircraft flying, the lesson is uncomfortable: the oldest threat in the fuel system was a fragment nobody knew was there.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DdPxS5tPVic\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:-12px;font-style:italic\">MK356 on its first Spitfire Mk IX sortie of the 2024 season at RAF Coningsby, filmed early in the 2024 display season.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: UK Ministry of Defence Service Inquiry report, BBC News, FlightGlobal, The Telegraph, Royal Air Force, Wikipedia<\/em><\/p>\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What caused the BBMF Spitfire MK356 crash?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Ministry of Defence Service Inquiry, published on 1 October 2026, found that debris in the carburettor of Spitfire MK356 very likely caused fuel starvation and a loss of thrust shortly after take-off from RAF Coningsby on 25 May 2024. Chemical analysis showed the debris had been present for decades.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who was the pilot killed in the Spitfire MK356 crash?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The pilot was Squadron Leader Mark Long, 43, of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. A former Harrier and Typhoon pilot and the RAF Typhoon display pilot in 2016, he was in his fourth season with the BBMF when he was killed on 25 May 2024.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How long was Spitfire MK356 airborne before it crashed?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Spitfire MK356 crashed 56 seconds after taking off from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on 25 May 2024. The engine lost the thrust needed to maintain powered flight and the aircraft came down in a field near the base.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What did the Spitfire inquiry say about maintenance manuals?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Service Inquiry found that multiple, contradictory publications created ambiguity over the correct procedures for carburettor maintenance. Weak document control was identified as a contributing factor, and the inquiry made 26 safety recommendations, including improved maintenance records.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What was the history of Spitfire MK356?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Spitfire MK356 was a Mk IXe built in March 1944 with a Merlin 66 engine. It flew with the Royal Canadian Air Force's No. 144 Wing before D-Day, later served as a gate guardian, and was restored to fly with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in the 1990s.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Is the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight still flying?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight returned to flying after the 2024 crash. In July 2024 its Spitfire TE311 was repainted on one side with the code L-NG and Mark Long's name under the cockpit in his memory.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What caused the BBMF Spitfire MK356 crash?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Ministry of Defence Service Inquiry, published on 1 October 2026, found that debris in the carburettor of Spitfire MK356 very likely caused fuel starvation and a loss of thrust shortly after take-off from RAF Coningsby on 25 May 2024. Chemical analysis showed the debris had been present for decades.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who was the pilot killed in the Spitfire MK356 crash?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The pilot was Squadron Leader Mark Long, 43, of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. 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Weak document control was identified as a contributing factor, and the inquiry made 26 safety recommendations, including improved maintenance records.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What was the history of Spitfire MK356?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Spitfire MK356 was a Mk IXe built in March 1944 with a Merlin 66 engine. It flew with the Royal Canadian Air Force's No. 144 Wing before D-Day, later served as a gate guardian, and was restored to fly with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in the 1990s.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Is the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight still flying?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight returned to flying after the 2024 crash. In July 2024 its Spitfire TE311 was repainted on one side with the code L-NG and Mark Long's name under the cockpit in his memory.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/spitfires-first-flight-changed-everything\/\">Spitfire's First Flight Changed Everything<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/mary-ellis-ata-pilot-400-spitfires-without-radio\/\">Mary Ellis: The ATA Pilot Who Flew 400 Spitfires Without a Radio<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/schneider-trophy-supermarine-s6b-spitfire-merlin\/\">The Air Race That Built the Spitfire<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The MoD inquiry into the 2024 crash of BBMF Spitfire MK356, which killed Sqn Ldr Mark Long, found decades-old debris in the carburettor starved the Merlin of fuel 56 seconds after take-off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":26488217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26488561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Spitfire MK356 Crash: Inquiry Blames Carburettor Debris | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The MoD inquiry into the BBMF Spitfire MK356 crash that killed Sqn Ldr Mark Long found decades-old carburettor debris starved the Merlin of fuel.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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