ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 272576
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| Date: | Saturday 18 March 2006 |
| Time: | |
| Type: | Gemini Flash 2 Alpha |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | ZU-AHU |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | White Mountain, close to Howick in KwaZulu-Natal -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | |
| Nature: | |
| Departure airport: | Eva’s Fields private airfield |
| Dragon’s Peak private airfield | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot flew his microlight aircraft ' one of a group of seven ' from Dragon's Peak airfield on a private flight under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) by day to Eva's Field near Howick in KwaZulu-Natal. The flight was uneventful. He then took off again for the return flight to Dragon's Peak, flying with two other microlights. When the three pilots were 18 nm from Dragon's Peak, they observed high terrain ahead and low cloud. To avoid exposing themselves to danger, they diverted from their track and headed in a northerly direction, flying for 3 nm around the danger area. At a distance of 12 nm from Dragon's Peak, it was noticed that the accident aircraft was missing from the group. A ground-and-air search-and- rescue operation was initiated and the wreckage of the microlight was found on the summit of a mountain. The aircraft had been destroyed and pilot fatally injured. Based on the damage sustained by the aircraft, it was concluded that the pilot became separated from the other two microlights, probably became disorientated in the cloud, and lost control of his aircraft. It is also possible that he attempted to clear the top of a mountain by advancing the throttle to full power and executing a climb-out. In this scenario, the engine failed, and the microlight stalled and then spun or spiralled into the ground.
Probable Cause The pilot flew VMC into IMC, resulting in the aircraft stalling and subsequently crashing.
Contributing factors:
- No weather briefing was obtained.
- The stall angle of the wing was exceeded.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
S.A. CAA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
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