Airfield's crash history

Philip Makanna (left) and Clive Denney after last year's crash

Crashes are an ever-present danger when flying often elderly display aircraft.

Duxford, which has a large collection of its own and is used by private owners, has seen several.

In July 2001 two men escaped from vintage T6 Harvard plane after it crashed on take-off.

Photographer Phil Makanna returned to the smouldering wreck to drag pilot Clive Denney clear before the American World War II trainer plane burst into flames.

In October 1997, the last working World War II German Messerschmitt Bf109 crashed at an airshow while being flown by one of the most senior officers in the RAF.

Sunday's crash hit the central reservation

The proximity of the M11 was almost a serious factor as the machine came to rest upside down in a field close to the motorway.

The pilot, Air Chief Marshal Sir John Allison, Commander-in-Chief of RAF Strike Command, had to be freed by firecrews but was unhurt.

The Messerschmitt, notoriously difficult to land because of its narrow undercarriage and poor visibility had overshot the runway while coming in to land.

The only fatality before Sunday's incident occurred in July 1996 when a World War II P38 Lightning fighter clipped a wing on the ground while on a low-level fly-past.

The plane span out of control and hit a line of parked aeroplanes, killing the pilot instantly.

Again, wreckage came to rest just yards from the M11 and a lorry driver was shaken but otherwise unharmed after his vehicle was hit by flying debris.