ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 272838
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| Date: | Saturday 10 July 2004 |
| Time: | |
| Type: | Solo Wings Windlass |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | ZS-WCY |
| MSN: | WL 105 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: / Occupants: |
| Aircraft damage: | |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Farm Kondowe (Hans Marensky Nature Reserve Area) -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | |
| Nature: | |
| Departure airport: | Farm Kondowe (Hans Marensky Nature Reserve Area) |
| Tzaneen Aerodrome | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On 8 July 2004 the pilot flew with his micro-light aircraft from Tzaneen aerodrome to a game farm of a friend's for a hunting trip and to spend a few days on the farm with his wife. The flight from Tzaneen to the farm was approximately 40 minutes. The pilot landed on the private runway on the farm, which according to his wife, he had flown to on several occasions. The pilot's wife arrived on the farm by road. The next day they spent hunting and shot two Impala antelope, and processed the carcasses. Early the next morning, they started packing in order to return home and it was decided to load some portions of the carcasses on the back seat of the micro- light, in order to get the meat to a cool storage room without delay. The weight of the carcasses that was loaded was approximately 40kg, and it was properly tied down on the back seat. According to his wife (eye-witness) he checked the wind before the flight by throwing some dust into the air where upon he stated that he 'was worried by the windy conditions, although it felt quite calm on the ground'?. His wife then waited for him to take-off alongside the runway. He made a long take-off run and became airborne approximately s? down the runway, which was approximately 300m long. After lift-off he started to climb but just before some trees at the end of the runway it appeared that he lost lift as the witness recalled the nose of the micro-light dropping. The right wing then impacted with a tree and the aircraft veered to the right and impacted the ground approximately 30m from the tree. His wife then drove to the scene and arrived just as the micro-light burst into flames. She managed to cut him free and with the aid of a blanket she dissipated the flames and pulled him away from the wreckage. With the assistance of a farm worker they loaded him into the vehicle and she rushed him to hospital. The pilot passed away shortly afterwards due to multiple injures sustained during impact. The last Annual Inspection that was certified on the micro-light prior to the accident was on 16 June 2004 at 581.9 airframe hours. The amount of hours that was flown subsequent to the inspection could not be determined. Probable Cause The pilot performed a downwind take-off causing a loss of lift shortly after becoming airborne probable due to the wind gradient coming into effect and his right wing impacted a tree at the end of the runway, rendering ground impact inevitable.
Accident investigation:
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Sources:
S.A. CAA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
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