Plane flipped and burst aflame 48hrs after nearby accident

The two planes crashed within miles of one another over the two day period in Strabane District.

No-one was hurt in either incident although one of the aircraft suffered extensive fire damage after it burst into flames following the accident.

Just after 11am on May 1 the 49-year-old pilot of a Flight Design CTSW, G-CTSW, hit a boundary hedge whilst trying to take off from a private airstrip at Killeter.

The plane flipped upside down and landed in a nearby field. The pilot managed to get out uninjured before the aircraft went on fire.

According to the Department of Transport Air Accidents Investigation Branch’s (AAIB) August 2011 bulletin the pilot had operated the aircraft from the private airstrip over the preceding two days without incident.

The pilot said the wind conditions on the day of the accident were no different from the days before and that the grass runway was damp from overnight dew.

The AAIB bulletin states: “The pilot applied full power for the takeoff. After lift off, which was slightly further down the strip than on the previous days, the aircraft was reluctant to climb and the engine seemed low on power.

“At this point the pilot was committed to continuing with the takeoff, but the aircraft was unable to clear the boundary hedge at the end of the runway. Its main landing gear struck the hedge and the aircraft turned over, coming to rest inverted in the field beyond. The pilot was uninjured and able to vacate the aircraft unaided via the left door.”

The pilot believed the plane may have been affected by a wind rotor triggered by the crest of a ridge which was slightly upwind of the far end of the runway.

The incident followed another accident at a farm strip in Castlederg less than two days earlier on April 29 at 7.40pm when the 51-year-old pilot of a P and M Aviation Pegasus Quik, G-CGRW got into difficulty taxiing.

The AAIB reports: “The aircraft tipped onto its left side when, while taxiing in a right turn, a gust of wind caught its right wing, causing the left wingtip to contact the ground. The pilot vacated the aircraft without injury.”

The plane’s wing, control frame, propeller and monopole were all damaged in the incident.

Both accidents were reported to the AAIB which is responsible for the investigation of civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the UK. The Chief Inspector of Air Accidents reports directly to the Secretary of State for Transport.