Richard Grace Cause of Death: Manager and chief engineer of Air Leasing Ltd. at Sywell Aerodrome, Richard Grace dies at 40

Richard Grace, the manager and chief engineer of Air Leasing Ltd. at Sywell Aerodrome, passed away suddenly, and the warbird community is in mourning. At the age of 40, Richard passed away on Tuesday, October 15th from a long-term illness.

Growing up near vintage airplanes, Richard Grace witnessed the first restoration flight of the family Spitfire ML407 in 1985 before he was even a year old. Richard had the chance to pursue his lifelong passions of engineering and aviation at Air Leasing Ltd.

He was the son of Nick and Carolyn Grace, a famous couple. Nick started the Spitfire ML407 restoration, however he tragically died in an automobile accident in 1988. ‘The Grace Spitfire’ was the family plane, and his wife Carolyn chose to pilot it. She was the first qualified female pilot to participate in show flying and the first female pilot authorized to fly the type since World War II. Unfortunately, on December 2, 2022, Carolyn died in an automobile accident in Australia.

At the age of 20, he rebuilt and piloted his first aircraft, and he hasn’t stopped since. Among the WWII aircraft types Richard has flown are the Hawker Hurricane, Hawker Sea Fury, Yak-3, P-51 Mustang, and many Spitfire models. Additionally, Richard was a member of the Trig Aerobatic Team, which performed in two Pitts Specials across Europe.

He has handled the sale, purchase, import, repair, and certification of numerous airplanes and has been the main driver of the company’s expanding operations.

We send our deepest sympathies to his sisters Olivia and Nicola, his wife Daisy, and their two children Allegra and Stirling.