ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 216255
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| Date: | Sunday 14 October 2018 |
| Time: | 15:45 LT |
| Type: |  Cessna F172N Skyhawk |
| Owner/operator: | Badisch-Pfälzischer Flugsportverein e.V. (BPFV) |
| Registration: | D-EFJX |
| MSN: | F17201962 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Gersfeld-Wasserkuppe Airfield (EDER) -
 Germany
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Mannheim Airport (MHG/EDFM) |
| Gersfeld-Wasserkuppe Airfield (EDER) | |
| Investigating agency: | BFU |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot took off with 3 passengers on board with a Cessna F 172N at 14:56 from Mannheim for a flight according to visual flight rules to the Wasserkuppe Airfield (EDER).
The pre-flight check was performed by a pilot who had been a passenger on the outbound flight to the Wasserkuppe and who was later to perform the return flight to Mannheim as the pilot in command. During this check, he found that the tanks were only a quarter full according to the fuel gauges. Before taking off for the Wasserkuppe, he therefore refueled the Cessna with 84 l of AVGAS 100LL.
The pilot, who was to fly the Cessna to the Wasserkuppe, announced his flight intention by telephone to the flight director at the Wasserkuppe on the morning of the day of the accident, at around 10:00. He stated that his estimated time of arrival would be at 15:30.
The flight from Mannheim to Wasserkuppe was described by 2 witnesses who were passengers in the Cessna as normal. Near the destination airfield, the pilot contacted the air traffic controller by radio and was told to report again on the right downwind leg to runway 24. Witnesses observed the Cessna enter the aerodrome circuit and, according to the information from the air traffic controller, execute the landing pattern and approach to runway 24. According to the air traffic controller, the aircraft's approach was without incident and the weather conditions for landing were not particularly challenging.
Witnesses observed during the approach at 15:48 that the aircraft was still about "man-high" above the runway at the level of the halfway marker. A glider pilot flying over the Wasserkuppe who observed the aircraft land stated that he heard a radio call, "Juliet X-Ray, I'm taking off again." Witnesses on the ground observed the Cessna abort its landing attempt and the aircraft attempt to take off again. As it did so, they heard from the engine sounds how the engine speed increased significantly and saw the Cessna attempting to regain altitude over the rising runway. Witnesses observed that the aircraft did not gain altitude over the rising terrain and that, instead, the Cessna made contact with the ground. The initial ground contact occurred about 70 m beyond the runway end, to the left of the runway extension, in a meadow about 17 m in front of a road running perpendicular to the landing direction. Subsequently, the aircraft moved in the direction of 247° and collided with a stop pillar of a barrier system on the road. While crossing the road, the Cessna caught 3 people. It then collided with a barrier on the other side of the road.
The Cessna reached its final position approximately 46 m behind the road and 82 m from the first ground contact lane in a meadow. The aircraft was severely damaged.
All 4 occupants of the Cessna were able to leave it uninjured. The 3 persons who had been hit by the Cessna on the road suffered fatal injuries.
Conclusions:
The aircraft accident was due to the fact that the go around maneuver was initiated by the pilot at a position where the aircraft's power was insufficient to regain sufficient altitude on the rising terrain.
Unintentional ground contact with the terrain in runway extension could therefore not be prevented.
Contributing to the course of the accident were:
- The late decision to perform a go-around maneuver.
- The challenging airfield terrain, which, under unfavorable conditions (load, terrain height, wind and temperature), did not allow the aircraft to successfully take off at the half runway mark.
- The obstacle situation in the departure area with a road running at right angles to the runway direction, which was not sufficiently kept clear of vehicle and passenger traffic for arriving and departing aircraft.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.hessenschau.de/panorama/drei-tote-bei-flugzeugunglueck-auf-wasserkuppe,flugzeugunglueck-wasserkuppe-100.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45858270
https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/43558/4087588
Media:
🔴 ALERTE INFO - #Allemagne : Un avion de type #Cessna percute un groupe de personnes sur un aérodrome dans la montagne #Wasserkuppe à #Hessen faisant moins trois morts et huit blessés, la cause de l'accident reste à déterminer (RPR1/MDR)." pic.twitter.com/ZMvuapry0w
— FranceNews24 (@FranceNews24) October 14, 2018
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Oct-2018 15:16 | harro | Added |
| 14-Oct-2018 15:44 | harro | Updated [Operator, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 14-Oct-2018 15:44 | harro | Updated [Embed code] |
| 14-Oct-2018 18:42 | TB | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Embed code] |
| 14-Oct-2018 19:02 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Narrative] |
| 14-Oct-2018 19:04 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 14-Oct-2018 19:08 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Total occupants, Source, Embed code] |
| 15-Oct-2018 17:41 | TB | Updated [Location, Embed code] |
| 15-Oct-2018 18:33 | harro | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Oct-2019 14:20 | Uli Elch | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 06-Mar-2021 20:06 | harro | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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