ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 244356
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| Date: | Saturday 24 October 2020 |
| Time: | 10:30 UTC |
| Type: |  Kitplanes for Africa Bushbaby |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | ZU-EPK |
| MSN: | 014 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Howick, Midlands, KwaZulu-Natal -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Eva’s Field |
| Light Flight Airstrip | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A pilot (co-owner of the aircraft) and a passenger on-board a Bushbaby aircraft with registration ZU-EPK took off from KwaZulu-Natal’s Light Flight Airstrip to Eva’s Field, also in KwaZulu-Natal. The intention for this flight was for the other co-owner of the aircraft, who is also a pilot and an Approved Person (AP), to carry out an annual inspection on the day. The flight was uneventful.
After the annual inspection was completed, the pilot and his passenger prepared to depart Eva’s Field back to the Light Flight Airstrip. The initial start-up of the engine sounded rough, and the pilot decided to shut down the engine. The AP then opened the cowlings and removed the spark plugs for cleaning and re-gapping. The aircraft was started up again, and it sounded well. The aircraft was then taxied close to the threshold of runway 18 for take-off. Once airborne, the pilot made a sharp left turn. During this sequence, an eyewitness stated that he heard the engine misfire and moments later, the left wing dropped; the pilot seemed unable to correct the aircraft (recover), and the aircraft continued in the left roll whilst losing height in what seemed like a teardrop turn to return to the airstrip.
The pilot and the passenger were fatally injured, and the aircraft was destroyed in the accident sequence.
Probable Cause and Contributory Factors
It is probable that the engine stopped due to fuel exhaustion after the initial climb and the pilot lost control of the aircraft after making a sharp left turn; he failed to recover the aircraft and, subsequently, impacted the ground in the valley.
Contributing factor
Fuel mismanagement.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://tellitallsa.co.za/two-dead-in-kzn-plane-crash/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2020 12:11 | gerard57 | Added |
| 24-Oct-2020 12:25 | gerard57 | Updated [Location] |
| 24-Oct-2020 15:02 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Plane category] |
| 21-Apr-2022 07:26 | harro | Updated [[Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Plane category]] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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