Date:	Saturday 19 April 1947
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk VIII
Owner/operator:	2 Sqn RIAF
Registration:	MT881
MSN:	SUP.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Sahyadri Mountain Ranges, Narayangaon, Pune district, Maharashtra -   India
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RIAF Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, British India (Pakistan)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
MT881: Spitfire LF VIII, built by Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) with Merlin M66 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton. Oxfordshire 27-8-44. To 82MU RAF Lichfield, Fradley, Staffordshire 3-9-44 for packing and crating for shipment overseas. Shipped on the 'LS.2019' 2-10-44, arriving India 4-11-44. To 131 Squadron RAF: the squadron had moved to India in October 1944. 131 Squadron re-assembled at Amarda Road on 5-2-45 but its Spitfires were re-allocated to the Royal Indian Air Force and the squadron was disbanded on 10-6-45. To 2 Squadron RIAF by February 1946 at RIAF Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, British India (Pakistan)

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 19-4-47 when force landed in bad weather while flying over the Sahyadri Mountain Ranges, Western Ghats, near Narayangaon, Junnar taluka of the Pune district of Maharashtra state, India. During a cross country NAVEX (navigation exercise) the pilot encountered the edge of a cyclone while flying over mountainous terrain. The pilot also found that he had insufficient fuel on board to either return to base (RIAF Kohat) or divert to another suitable airfield. The pilot then opted to make a wheels-up belly landing in a clear space when the fuel state became critical. However, on touchdown, the Spitfire was severely damaged.

Crew of Spitfire MT881:
Flying Officer (IND/3163) Deryck Borkman Pigott, RIAF (pilot aged 20 at the time) - survived uninjured.

He was a squadron pilot for 2 Squadron RIAF, at Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, British India (Pakistan) from 15-6-46 to 15-6-47. While the pilot survived this incident uninjured, he was later killed in the crash of a Percival Prentice in India on 11-12-50, aged 24.

Not repaired: Struck Off Charge 31-7-47 as Cat. E2(FA)

Narayangaon is a town in the Junnar taluka of the Pune district of Maharashtra state, India. Water is abundant because of its proximity to the major dams, the western ghats, and the Sahyadri mountain range

1. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.308
2. Halley, J J,1985, Royal Air Force Aircraft MA100 to MZ999.
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p075.html
4. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=MT881
5. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/89815-mt881
6. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/MT881
7. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/3163
8. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/MT881
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._131_Squadron_RAF#Reformation_in_World_War_II
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._2_Squadron_IAF#History
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghats

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Sep-2023 21:21	Dr. John Smith	Added
03-Sep-2023 19:50	Nepa	Updated