ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 180300
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| Date: | Saturday 10 October 2015 |
| Time: | 13:00 UTC |
| Type: |  Pegasus Quik GT450 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | G-CDUH |
| MSN: | 8167 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2006 |
| Engine model: | Rotax 912-UL |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Cromarty Firth, near Evanton, Easter Ross, Highland -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Easterton Airfield, Birnie, Elgin, Morayshire |
| Invergordon | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The two people hospitalised after an aircraft plummeted into the Cromarty Firth earlier this afternoon are said to be “safe and well”. The Invergordon lifeboat, the Inverness HM Coastguard helicopter – Rescue-951, and the police launched a search and rescue operation after the microlight went down in the waters near Evanton at about 2pm.
The two people on board the aircraft were taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. Aberdeen Coastguard – which led the operation – was alerted by the police after a separate aircraft saw the microlight fall from the skies close to Evanton. The microlight took off from the Easterton Airfield in Birnie, near Elgin, earlier on in the day.
A spokesman for the coastguard said: “Both crew members from the microlight were taken to Raigmore Hospital. They were in a good condition when they got to Raigmore. They were quite safe and well. They were in good nick. The search and rescue side of things, that is now finished and it is up to the police to investigate.”
“We got the call here from the police at 2.15pm and I believe the original call had come from another aircraft that had seen it and had contacted air traffic control. A lifeboat from Invergordon remains on scene at the moment with the wreckage.”
Police Scotland have been made aware of the incident and are assisting the coastguard with the search. A spokeswoman for the force said: “We have been made aware of the microlight at the Cromarty Firth. it is a coastguard led operation. It happened at the back of 2pm.”
According to a statement on the Inverness Coastguard Facebook page: "Inverness CRT were paged yesterday to assist on a downed microlight in the Cromarty firth, whilst enroute to Evanton Airfield we were then re diverted to Raigmore Helicopter Pad to assist Rescue 951 CG Chopper with off loading the 2 casualties who both were very cold and had minor injuries! Well done to all involved!!"
UPDATE: Per the following extract from the official AAIB report into the accident...
"The aircraft had taken off from Easterton Airfield, near Elgin, Morayshire and was en route to Invergordon via Nairn. The pilot flew at an altitude of 5,500 ft across the Moray Firth, but found the temperature cold. He therefore descended to 2,000 ft to cross the Cromarty Firth and then again to approximately 20 ft to fly along the shore.
When the pilot attempted to apply power to climb, the engine did not respond and the aircraft descended towards the water. He decided to ditch the aircraft because the shore, although close by, was rocky. The aircraft flipped inverted as it entered the water. The pilot unfastened his seatbelt and escaped from the pod, followed by his passenger. The pilot conjectured that the loss of power may have been caused by carburettor icing during the two previous descents".
Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report "Damaged beyond economic repair". As a result, the registration G-CDUH was cancelled by the CAA on 20/11/2015 as aircraft "destroyed"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/56975d11ed915d4747000019/Quik_GT450_G-CDUH_01-16.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=CDUH
3. https://stv.tv/news/scotland/1330463-helicopter-rescue-after-microlight-aircraft-crashes-in-cromarty-firth/
4. https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/inverness/719915/pair-involved-dramatic-cromarty-firth-aircraft-crash-good-nick/
5. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/two-rescued-coastguard-after-microlight-6611881
6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-34497224
7. http://hmcoastguard.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/two-rescued-from-sea-following.html
8. http://rnli.org/NewsCentre/Pages//Invergordon-Lifeboat-launched-to-downed-aircraft-in-Cromarty-Firth.aspx
9. https://www.airmedandrescue.com/story/sea-rescue-follows-microlight-crash1226_
Media:
Watch video as men rescued after microlight crashes into water http://t.co/2KYvkoYxoF
— STV News (@STVNews) October 12, 2015Two rescued from sea following microlight crash http://t.co/IsuBByFXly
— Maritime&Coastguard (@MCA_media) October 10, 2015Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Oct-2015 09:34 | gerard57 | Added |
| 12-Oct-2015 11:05 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Location, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Oct-2015 12:33 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
| 21-Oct-2015 18:17 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Oct-2015 12:46 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 19-Jan-2016 19:01 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 15-Jul-2016 16:02 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
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