Date:	Wednesday 4 December 1946
Time:	dusk
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire F Mk XIV
Owner/operator:	8 Sqn RIAF
Registration:	SM893
MSN:	6S 585084
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Lukhander, Near Harrai, Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh -   India
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RIAF Bhopal, Gandhi Nagar, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Destination airport:	RIAF Nagpur, Sonegaon, Nagpur, Maharashtra
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
SM893: Spitfire FR XIV, MSN 6S 585084. Built by Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at Eastleigh, Southampton, Hampshire with Griffon G65 engine. To 9MU RAF Cosford, Shropshire 14-5-45. To 82MU RAF Lichfield, Fradley, Staffordshire 15-6-45 for packing and crating for overseas shipment. Shipped on the ss 'Empire Gambia' and the 'LS.3196' 5-8-45, arriving India 30-8-45. To ACSEA (Air Command South East Asia) 13-9-45. To 8 Squadron RIAF by 1-12-45.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 4-12-46: While on a cross country NAVEX (navigation exercise) from RIAF Bhopal, Gandhi Nagar, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh to RIAF Nagpur, Sonegaon, Nagpur, Maharashtra, the pilot became lost in the gathering dusk and increasing cloud cover. With the fuel state becoming critical, the pilot decided to bail out, and abandoned Spitfire SM893 at Lukhander, near Harrai, Madhya Pradesh, India at approx. coordinates 20.42N 79.5E. (Harrai is a Nagar Panchayat in Chhindwara district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh).

Crew of Spitfire SM893:
Flying Officer (IND/3083) Nauroze Kaikaushru Lakka, RIAF (Pilot, aged 21 at the time) - bailed out, survived uninjured

The subsequent Board of Inquiry criticized the pilot for his poor planning of the NAVEX sortie, which left no margin for error, or allowances for a change in the prevailing weather conditions. Despite this unfortunate early mishap, the pilot rose through the ranks of the Indian Air Force to become a Group Captain (on 3-3-1966) and commanding officer of AFS Kumbhigram. He retired from the Indian Air Force on 31-5-1976 at the age of 50.

1. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.252
2. 8 Sqn RIAF ORB for the period 1-12-1946 to 31-5-1947: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/123/13: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8407581
3. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.104: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p102.html
5. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=SM893
6. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/SM893
7. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/80130-sm893
8. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/SM893
9. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/3083
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrai

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
11-Sep-2023 02:33	Dr. John Smith	Added
11-Sep-2023 02:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated
11-Sep-2023 08:17	Nepa	Updated