Loss of control caused air crash (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Loss of control caused air crash

5:00pm Thursday 18th March 2010 in

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A STALL and sharp turn caused a light aircraft crash which left a pilot with severe injuries, an investigation has found.

The UK Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB) investigation concluded the 65-year-old pilot lost control of his Rans S6-ES Coyote 11, causing it to come down at Brimpton Airfield, near Aldermaston, at 2.21pm on Saturday, February 14, last year.

At the time, The Gazette reported how firefighters from Tadley and Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service worked for more than an hour to free the male pilot from the plane, which was intact but badly damaged. The pilot survived the crash.

Witnesses reported seeing the pilot’s kit-built aircraft stall about 200ft above Brimpton Airfield, bank left and go into a turn “from which there was insufficient height to recover”.

The report states that in the mom-ents leading to the crash, the pilot – who had a private pilot’s licence plus 165 hours’ flying experience – had been carrying out a “touch and go” manoeuvre that involves landing on a runway and taking off without coming to a full stop.

But when he climbed, investigators concluded he did not have enough power as he was travelling at 44mph when the usual climb speed is 55mph to 60mph.

The pilot then turned to the left as the aircraft began stalling, causing it to rotate 310 degrees before hitting the ground.

The report concluded that the aircraft, which appeared to have been serviceable, was intact after crashing into soft ground near the airfield, and the angle of the crash suggested the pilot managed to pull out of the turn but had insufficient height to complete the recovery.