window.dotcom = window.dotcom || { cmd: [] }; window.dotcom.ads = window.dotcom.ads || { resolves: {enabled: [], getAdTag: []}, enabled: () => new Promise(r => window.dotcom.ads.resolves.enabled.push(r)), getAdTag: () => new Promise(r => window.dotcom.ads.resolves.getAdTag.push(r)) }; setTimeout(() => { if(window.dotcom.ads.resolves){ window.dotcom.ads.resolves.enabled.forEach(r => r(false)); window.dotcom.ads.resolves.getAdTag.forEach(r => r("")); window.dotcom.ads.enabled = () => new Promise(r => r(false)); window.dotcom.ads.getAdTag = () => new Promise(r => r("")); console.error("NGAS load timeout"); } }, 5000)

Plaque for Spitfire crash pilot unveiled

Pritti Mistry
BBC News
BBC Two servicemen wearing blue uniforms salute in front of a white plaque mounted on a black stand. A wreath of white and red roses and other flowers have been laid at its base. A small crowds of people, including people dressed in uniforms with regimental colours, watch.BBC
The plaque was was unveiled during a dedication ceremony earlier

A plaque honouring an RAF pilot who died in a Spitfire crash has been unveiled.

Sqn Ldr Mark Long was killed when his plane, which belonged to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF), crashed in a field near RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, on 25 May 2024.

The commemorative plaque was installed in the village of Market Stainton, near Market Rasen, and unveiled during a dedication ceremony on Saturday at 13:00 BST.

On the day of his death, Sqn Ldr Long, 43, had been due to fly over the village as part of a remembrance ceremony for the crew of a Lancaster bomber, which crashed nearby in 1943, organisers said.

RAF Sqn Ldr Mark Long in dark blue RAF flying suit standing with arms folded in front of a Spitfire aircraft painted grey and green with black propellers and black-and-white stripes on the wing. RAF
Sqn Ldr Mark Long was killed when his Spitfire crashed near RAF Coningsby in May 2024

Dan Grant helped organise the plaque for Sqn Ldr Long and was also involved in the memorial event for the Lancaster crew.

His cousin, Flying Officer Francis Archie Randall, was the pilot of the bomber when it came down in the village on its return from a raid on Berlin on 16 December 1943.

Mr Grant, a retired airline captain and aviation historian who lives in Quebec, Canada, raised money for a memorial dedicated to Flying Officer Randall – who was just 21 when he died – and the rest of the crew.

He said Sqn Ldr Long had been on his way to perform a fly-past at a dedication ceremony for the memorial when his Spitfire crashed.

The plaque reads "In Memory of Sqn Ldr Mark Long RAF who died on 25th May 2024 when his BBMF Spitfire crashed flying to this memorial site to honour this Lancaster crew during the dedication ceremony.  Per Ardua ad Astra.  Kindly funded by RAFA Cranwell Branch."
The commemorative plaque has been installed in the village of Market Stainton

Mr Grant said he decided to pay tribute to Sqn Ldr Long with a new plaque in his honour.

He paid tribute to Sqn Ldr Long as a man who "dedicated himself to preserving the history of the RAF, as well as defending the freedoms we now enjoy", adding that he could not be "more proud" of him.

Funding for the plaque was provided by the Cranwell branch of the Royal Air Forces Association.

Sqn Ldr Mark Sugden, the commanding officer of the BBMF, attended the memorial event and described Sqn Ldr Long as a "dear friend".

"He's the person that everybody wants to be – so incredibly selfless, so incredibly gifted, but so incredibly humble with it. He was genuinely an inspiration to us all," he said.

The BBMF fleet was grounded after the crash, but has since been cleared for flying and is due to take part in events during this year's display season.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.

Related internet links