ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 195672
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| Date: | Thursday 25 May 2017 |
| Time: | 10:50 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-28R-201 Arrow III |
| Owner/operator: | J.H. Sandman Aviation |
| Registration: | G-CEOF |
| MSN: | 28-37008 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1988 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-360-C1C6 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Kilbrannan Sound, 2 miles NE of Skipness, Mull of Kintyre, Argyll & Bu -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Oban-Connel Airport (OBN/EGEO) |
| Carlisle Lake District Airport (CAX/EGNC) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A light aircraft crashed between the Mull of Kintyre and the Isle of Arran. The aircraft, which took off from Oban Airport, at around 11:30, failed to arrive at its destination of Carlisle Airport at 13:00. An extensive search was co-ordinated by HM Coastguard. The bodies of two men and some wreckage from the aircraft were recovered in the sea two miles north-east of Skipness, Mull of kintyre, Argyll and Bute.
UPDATE:
The official AAIB report into the incident was published on 10/5/2018, and the following is an extract from it...
"AAIB investigation to Piper PA-28R-201 Cherokee Arrow III, G-CEOF
Descended into the sea, two miles north-east of Skipness, Kintyre peninsula, 25 May 2017.
The pilot chartered the aircraft from Carlisle Lake District Airport on 20 May 2017 to fly to Oban Airport where he planned to meet friends and walk up Ben Nevis. The intention was to return to Carlisle on 24 May 2017. After a brief flight check with a local instructor, the pilot and a friend departed Carlisle at 16:00 hours for the flight to Oban.
Oban Airport closed at 17:15 hours and although the flying club at Carlisle had attempted to arrange for an out-of-hours arrival before his departure, the paperwork had not been correctly submitted. Consequently, en route to Oban the pilot was informed by Scottish Information that Oban Airport would be closed at his predicted arrival time and he was advised to divert to Cumbernauld Airport.
The pilot landed at Cumbernauld at 16:38 hours. The following morning the pilot had a discussion with instructors at Cumbernauld on the routing to Oban. G-CEOF departed Cumbernauld at 11:51 hours and arrived at Oban at 12:46 hours on 21 May 2017. The weather on 24 May 2017 was not suitable for the planned return flight to Carlisle, so the flight was delayed until 25 May 2017.
The pilot and passenger arrived at Oban Airport at approximately 09:00 hours on 25 May 2017. There was fog and low cloud in the area at that time and the conditions were not suitable to depart Oban and fly to Carlisle. The pilot was seen by several witnesses checking the weather using an application on a mobile device; however, it was not possible to confirm which application he used. At some point, the pilot contacted the flying school at Carlisle and was told that the weather at the airfield was poor but was expected to improve.
The pilot discussed the weather with the Flight Information Service Officer (FISO) at Oban and mentioned that there was low cloud at Campbeltown and Islay, and that he would delay his departure. At approximately 09:50 hours, the pilot contacted the flying school at Carlisle and was informed that the weather had improved at the airfield. He told them that he would depart Oban shortly and asked the school to book a taxi to meet the aircraft to take him and his passenger to Carlisle train station.
Several witnesses stated that the pilot told them that he intended to head to Campbeltown; one witness said that the pilot told him that he would route closer to Prestwick. The departure at 10:25 hours was uneventful and the aircraft changed frequency to Scottish Information shortly after leaving the ATZ.
At 10:40 hours, the pilot of G-CEOF relayed a message to Scottish Information, via a second aircraft, that he was over Lochgilphead at 1,000 ft and that he was routing to Carlisle via the Turnberry VOR. Scottish Information, in turn, relayed a message informing the pilot of G-CEOF that he would receive a Basic Service and to squawk 7401.
He was also advised that better two-way communication could be expected as the aircraft routed south towards the Turnberry VOR. The flight details were passed to Prestwick ATC as Scottish Information anticipated transferring the aircraft to Prestwick once it was in the vicinity of Bute.
Approximately 20 minutes after the relay call to G-CEOF, Scottish Information had still not heard from the pilot of G-CEOF and therefore the FISO attempted to communicate with him. As there was no response from the pilot, and the FISO could see no evidence of the aircraft on his Flight Information Display, he checked with ATC at Prestwick, Glasgow, Campbeltown, Oban and Carlisle to determine if any of these units were in contact with the aircraft.
As none of these units had made contact with the pilot, at 11:15 hours the FISO at Scottish Information reported his concern for the safety of the aircraft to the Airways Watch Manager and the Distress and Diversion (D&D) Cell at Swanwick. Floating wreckage and the bodies of both occupants were later recovered from the sea."
Damage sustained to airframe: Per the above AAIB report "aircraft Destroyed". As a result, the registration G-CEOF was cancelled by the CAA with effect from 31/1/2018
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ad701d0e5274a76be66c4b5/Piper_PA-28R-201_Cherokee_Arrow_III_G-CEOF_05-18.pdf
2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-40054779
3. https://www.obantimes.co.uk/2017/05/25/two-die-in-plane-crash-off-arran/
4. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/rescue-operation-underway-after-aircraft-10501399
5. https://www.obantimes.co.uk/2017/05/26/search-for-missing-men-following-air-crash-ends-in-tragedy/
6. http://www.scotsman.com/news/debris-found-in-hunt-for-light-aircraft-in-mull-of-kintyre-1-4457523
7. https://stv.tv/news/west-central/1389672-two-men-killed-in-light-aircraft-crash-off-scotland/
8. http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/Pilot-involved-in-fatal-aircraft-crash-on-way-back-to-Carlisle-Airport-was-not-qualified-to-fly-in-conditions-ea338bab-1581-4d50-a090-33eaeb43ff64-ds
Images:
AAIB
Carlisle Lake District Airport (EGNC), Irthington, Cumbria, UK - 13th July 2012
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-May-2017 06:34 | dh1141b | Added |
| 26-May-2017 06:36 | harro | Updated [Location, Phase, Nature, Damage, Narrative, Plane category] |
| 26-May-2017 07:27 | harro | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-May-2017 07:38 | gerard57 | Updated [Aircraft type, Source] |
| 26-May-2017 07:39 | harro | Updated [Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 26-May-2017 14:10 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-May-2017 14:52 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Narrative] |
| 26-May-2017 14:58 | Aerossurance | Updated [Narrative] |
| 15-Jun-2017 10:00 | psitau | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 29-Jun-2017 15:35 | sharla82 | Updated [Registration, Source] |
| 10-May-2018 09:30 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 10-May-2018 09:32 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator] |
| 10-May-2018 09:33 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time] |
| 10-May-2018 15:00 | harro | Updated [Photo, ] |
| 10-May-2018 15:49 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 10-May-2018 22:47 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 10-May-2018 22:48 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 11-May-2018 17:26 | harro | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-May-2020 13:23 | Peter Clarke | Updated [Departure airport, Photo] |
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