An inquest was opened and adjourned for the pilot of the Memorial Flight Spitfire crash following a post-mortem examination in Leicester

A Royal Air Force pilot who died in a Spitfire crash suffered head and neck injuries, an inquest has heard. The five-minute hearing was told Squadron Leader Mark Long was pronounced dead at the scene by an air ambulance medic after emergency crews were called to a field on Langrick Road, near RAF Coningsby, a short time later before 1:20 PM on May 25.

The hearing was told the 43-year-old Battle of Britain Memorial Flight pilot lived in Lincolnshire and was formally identified by a coroner’s officer using the RAF document he was carrying. Coroner Jacqui Foxlow told the inquest opening that a post-mortem was carried out in Leicester on May 29 by pathologist Michael Biggs, who gave a provisional cause of death as “traumatic head and neck injury” but said the cause The exact medical cause of death has not yet been determined and has been subject to further tests.

Senior Coroner Paul Smith, at Greater Lincolnshire Coroner’s Court, said an investigation into the cause of the crash was ongoing. He said: “I am satisfied that the death of Squadron Leader Long is one that will require an inquest.

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“Obviously this is an early stage in relation to my investigation. It is likely to be a complex investigation. I therefore propose to adjourn these proceedings to a provisional date of 24 November this year.”

In a tribute issued last week, the pilot’s family said he “lived his life with unwavering passion” and “will be deeply cherished and missed”. Mr Long’s family said in a statement issued by the Ministry of Defence: “Mark lived his life with unwavering passion, laughter, love and dedication to his family.

“His talent for flying was there for all to see and his ability to connect with everyone he met was contagious. Mark will be cherished and deeply missed by us all.”