Christen Eagle II, G-EGUL, 29 October 2008

33 © Crown copyright 2009 AAIB Bulletin: 9/2009 G-EGUL EW/C2008/10/04 ACCIDENT Aircraft Type and Registration: Christen Eagle II, G-EGUL No & Type of Engines: 1 Lycoming AEIO-360-A1A piston engine Year of Manufacture: 1980 Date & Time (UTC): 29 October 2008 at 1349 hrs Location: Seething Airfield, Norfolk Type of Flight: Private Persons on Board: Crew - 1 Passengers - 1 Injuries: Crew - 1 (Fatal) Passengers - 1 (Fatal) Nature of Damage: Aircraft destroyed, structural damage to spraying vehicle Commander’s Licence: Private Pilot’s Licence Commander’s Age: 49 years Commander’s Flying Experience: 2,500 hours (of which 0 were on type) Last 90 days - 40 hours estimated Last 28 days - 13 hours estimated Information Source: AAIB Field Investigation Synopsis While making an approach to land, the aircraft collided with an agricultural vehicle that was spraying crops in a field adjacent to the runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed in the impact and post-crash fire. Both occupants suffered fatal injuries. The investigation concluded that the aircraft’s final approach was flown such that its occupants were unable to ensure that the flight path ahead was clear of obstacles. As a result, they were unaware of the vehicle’s proximity to the runway. No Safety Recommendations have been made. Background to the flight The flight was intended to form the basis of an article in a magazine for General Aviation enthusiasts, in which G-EGUL would feature. The author of the intended article was an experienced private pilot. He had completed a number of such assignments in the past, for which he had established a common flight profile. It was agreed that he would accompany one of G-EGUL ’s joint owners on a short flight from Seething Airfield, whilst a professional photographer took photographs from the ground to accompany the article. For the accident flight, the author occupied the rear seat as pilot-in-command, whilst the owner occupied the front seat. The rear seat was the primary position, and the owner did not hold an instructional qualification which would have allowed him to fly as pilot-in-command 34 © Crown copyright 2009 AAIB Bulletin: 9/2009 G-EGUL EW/C2008/10/04 from the front seat (which had limited controls). For consistency and ease of reading, this report refers to the author of the intended article as the ‘author’ or ‘pilot’; the joint owner is referred to as the ‘owner’. History of the flight On the morning of the accident day, the owner of G-EGUL flew the aircraft from its base at Old Buckenham Airfield to a friend’s private airstrip nearby. The owner and friend, an experienced Eagle and Pitts Special pilot, discussed the proposed flight and the owner reportedly sought opinion about the manoeuvres that should be included and said he intended to allow the author to handle the aircraft. The owner, who was reported to be well and in good spirits, took off from the strip at about 1115 hrs, and made the short flight to Seething. At Seething, the owner met the author and the photographer and the three men discussed a profile for the flight. After takeoff, the aircraft would climb overhead the airfield for a short period of general handling, before returning for a series of passes for the photographer, who was to be positioned next to the runway culminating in a low ‘head-on’ pass. The photographer would then move closer to the runway threshold, while the aircraft flew two or three touch‑and-go landings and a full-stop landing. After this discussion, the owner and pilot went to the club house for a light lunch, during which they were overheard discussing aircraft handling aspects, including approach speeds. The photographer subsequently positioned at the agreed point next to Runway 24, about 350 metres from the threshold. At 1336 hrs, G-EGUL took off and climbed overhead as planned. It returned to the circuit after a few minutes and, for about four more minutes, flew the series of passes as briefed. These were generally estimated by witnesses to be at 150 ft to 200 ft above ground level (agl), with the last ‘head-on’ pass being flown at an estimated 30 ft agl. Photographs taken during this period show the author handling the aircraft’s controls from the rear seat. With the photo passes complete, the aircraft positioned into the left‑hand circuit as planned. The aircraft flew a touch-and-go which was seen by several witnesses. Some thought the approach looked normal, whilst others thought it rather high. The aircraft flared over a point near the threshold, but then floated above the runway for a considerable distance. There was a marked bounce or two, before power was applied and the aircraft climbed away. As the aircraft flew around the circuit a second time, an agricultural spraying vehicle in an adjoining field was approaching the airfield boundary near the threshold of Runway 24. As it did so, the vehicle turned left to follow an established ‘tramline’ that ran about 20 metres from the edge of the paved surface (Figure 1). A farm hand, who had watched G-EGUL’s manoeuvres and the previous landing, was less than 100 metres south of the spray vehicle tending a herbicide replenishment bowser. He reported that the aircraft appeared from his right and was quite low certainly lower than it had been on the previous approach and, he thought, faster. As it approached the threshold, it did not seem to take any avoiding action and collided with the sprayer vehicle. The aircraft suffered immediate and catastrophic damage. The fuselage came to rest inverted, on the border between the field and the paved area where the airfield perimeter road crossed the Runway 24 threshold. The watching farm hand saw the accident, and ran towards the sprayer vehicle, which had also suffered 35 © Crown copyright 2009 AAIB Bulletin: 9/2009 G-EGUL EW/C2008/10/04 100 metres Final position of fuselage Position of vehicle at moment of impact (grey –final position) Cultivated field, with ‘tramlines’ Fallow buffer strip Figure 1 Plan of accident area, showing positions of spray vehicle and aircraft fuselage considerable damage. He found its driver apparently uninjured, but in such a state of shock that he was unable to extricate him from the cab. The farm hand then went to the aircraft, where a fire had started but, as flying club members were starting to arrive with fire extinguishers, he returned to the cab to attend his colleague. The club members suppressed the fire and gave first aid to the severely injured crew. The emergency services were alerted and an Air Ambulance helicopter arrived at 1414 hrs. The rear seat occupant was declared dead at the scene. The front seat occupant, the aircraft owner, was taken to hospital in a critical condition, but died in hospital 24 days later as a result of his injuries. Airfield information Seething Airfield occupies part of a former wartime USAAF airfield; it is about 9 nm from Norwich and is owned and operated by a private flying group. The airfield is licensed by the CAA for operations at weekends, primarily to allow flying training to take place; at other times it operates as an unlicensed airfield 1 . An air/ground radio station operates during licensed hours; at other times the radio may be manned, depending on circumstances and availability of operators. The airfield was equipped with Rescue and Fire Fighting (RFF) Footnote 1 Civil Aviation Publication (CAP) 168 deals with the licensing of aerodromes in the United Kingdom. 36 © Crown copyright 2009 AAIB Bulletin: 9/2009 G-EGUL EW/C2008/10/04 facilities to ‘Category Special’ standard. Although this standard was only required to be met during licensed hours, the fire fighting equipment was nevertheless available for use at other times, and was used on this occasion. The airfield has a single paved runway, designated 06/24, which is 800 metres long and marked on the paved surface of part of an original runway. For licensing purposes, an area surround

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Christen Eagle II, G-EGUL, 29 October 2008

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