Mid-air collision Accident Aeroprakt A-22L Foxbat EC-GU1,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228504
 
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Date:Sunday 25 August 2019
Time:13:35 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic AP22 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Aeroprakt A-22L Foxbat
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: EC-GU1
MSN: A22L-17-075
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:5
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Category:Accident
Location:Inca, Mallorca, Balearic Islands -   Spain
Phase: En route
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Binissalem Airfield
Destination airport:Binissalem Airfield
Investigating agency: CIAIAC
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
A Bell 206L-3 LongRanger III (D-HOTT) and an Aeroprakt A22L Foxbat (EC-GU1) crashed following a mid-air collision accident over Inca, Mallorca, Balearic Islands.
The helicopter, which was operating a scenic flight with four passengers onboard, impacted a garden and burst into flames.
The ultralight impacted a fence and burst into flames.
Both aircraft were destroyed. The pilot and four passengers onboard the helicopter and the two occupants onboard the ultralight perished.

The aircraft were on converging trajectories travelling in opposite directions, with the ultralight slightly below and to the left of the helicopter, according to the latter’s direction of travel.
Up until the instant before the collision, the pilots were unaware of the presence of another aircraft in their surroundings. At the last moment, the pilots became aware of the imminent collision and performed an evasive manoeuvre: the helicopter lowering its nose and turning to the right, causing the main rotor blades’ plane of rotation to be practically vertical, and the ultralight applying power to rise slightly above the helicopter.
At that moment, the blade that rotates in an anti-clockwise direction hits the ultralight’s left wing, severing the tip and its flaperon.
Subsequently, and as a consequence of losing lift from its left wing, the ultralight veered sharply to the left, moving its stabiliser and rudder towards the main rotor’s plane of rotation, which resulted in the next blade completely severing the top of the stabiliser and partially severing the rudder.
At the same time, the ultralight’s forward momentum caused its front underside to hit the helicopter’s vertical stabiliser, which houses the tail rotor, causing it to break into two parts and subsequently fall off.

The ultralight, which was now missing part of its left wing and its stabiliser, entered a left-hand spin, causing it to impact the ground in an inverted position.

The helicopter, with its main rotor blades damaged and without a tail rotor or vertical stabiliser, began to spin out of control in a clockwise direction, descending until it finally crashes into the ground.

Causes/contributing factors:
The most likely cause of the accident was insufficient airspace surveillance.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: CIAIAC
Report number: A-043/2019
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

https://www.lavanguardia.com/sucesos/20190825/464253399168/accidente-aereo-mortal-mallorca-choque-helicoptero-avioneta.html
https://www.wkrg.com/international/helicopter-small-plane-crash-in-spains-mallorca-5-dead/
https://www.diariodemallorca.es/sucesos/2019/08/25/helicoptero-avioneta-chocan-inca-supervivientes/1443312.html
https://www.ultimahora.es/sucesos/ultimas/2019/08/25/1102549/accidente-mallorca-fallecidos-chocar-avioneta-ultraligero.html#tabs-media-video
https://mallorcaconfidencial.com/2019-08-25-por-lo-menos-5-muertos-en-un-accidente-aereo-entre-costitx-e-inca
https://www.morgenpost.de/vermischtes/article226882615/Mallorca-Flugzeug-und-Hubschrauber-abgestuerzt-Sieben-Tote.html
https://news.sky.com/story/five-dead-after-helicopter-and-small-plane-collide-in-majorca-11793978

Media:

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
25-Aug-2019 13:59 Geno Added
25-Aug-2019 14:35 RobertMB Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Source, Damage, Narrative]
25-Aug-2019 15:12 RobertMB Updated [Location, Narrative, Plane category]
25-Aug-2019 17:00 gerard57 Updated [Other fatalities, Source, Narrative]
25-Aug-2019 18:01 harro Updated [Narrative]
25-Aug-2019 18:14 RobertMB Updated [Time, Source, Narrative]
25-Aug-2019 19:07 Iceman 29 Updated [Time, Embed code]
25-Aug-2019 20:57 Iceman 29 Updated [Embed code]
25-Aug-2019 21:18 Captain Adam Updated [Location, Narrative]
26-Aug-2019 15:29 harro Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
01-Sep-2019 11:51 MarkStep Updated [Source]
28-Aug-2022 19:21 harro Updated [Narrative, Category, Accident report]

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