Accident Kolb Firefly G-CEPN,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 196222
 
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Date:Tuesday 20 June 2017
Time:10:20 LT
Type:Kolb Firefly
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: G-CEPN
MSN: FF05.4.00048
Year of manufacture:2007
Engine model:Fuji Robin 330
Fatalities:Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Category:Accident
Location:near Newell Lane, Luffenhall, West of Buntingford, Hertfordshire -   United Kingdom
Phase: En route
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Cottered Airfield, Cottered, Buntingford, Hertfordshire
Destination airport:
Investigating agency: AAIB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The aircraft force landed to rolling open field terrain off Newell Lane in Luffenhall, Walkern, west of Buntingford, Hertfordshire. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the sole pilot onboard received fatal injuries.

Hertfordshire Constabulary closed Newell Lane while an investigation was carried out, but the road was reopened later in the afternoon. Six fire engines were deployed to the scene, along with police, paramedics and a hazardous area response team after the incident.

UPDATE: The official AAIB report into the accident was published on 7/3/2018, and the following is an excerpt from the report...

"AAIB investigation to Kolb FireFly, G-CEPN
Departure from controlled flight, Luffenhall, Hertfordshire, 20 June 2017.

Synopsis
Shortly after takeoff, approximately one mile from the runway, the aircraft was seen to enter a steep descending left turn from which it did not recover before striking the ground vertically. Analysis of CCTV footage confirmed that, immediately before the final manoeuvre, the aircraft’s speed was above the predicted stall speed. The investigation was unable to identify any defect which would have prevented the aircraft from responding normally to the pilot’s control inputs.

History of the flight
The pilot drove to Cottered Airfield with the aircraft on a trailer on the morning of the accident flight. There were no witnesses to his arrival at the airfield, to rigging the aircraft or taking off from the airfield. The aircraft took off from Runway 25 and after flying for less than a mile, was seen by local witnesses and on CCTV to enter a steep descending left turn and impact the ground vertically. The pilot was fatally injured.

Accident site
Police body camera footage confirmed that, when the Police arrived at the accident site, the aircraft was in a steep nose-down attitude. The emergency services had rotated the aircraft onto its landing gear prior to the arrival of the AAIB.

Recorded information
The final 4 seconds of the accident flight had been captured by a CCTV system installed on a house approximately 400 m from the accident site. The imagery showed the aircraft entering the camera’s field of view for 1.5 seconds in straight and level flight. The aircraft was then observed to roll sharply to the left and enter a steep dive from which it did not recover before striking the ground. Based on known measurements it was possible to calculate that, immediately before the initiation of the left roll, the aircraft was flying at a height of approximately 120 feet agl with a ground speed of between 38 and 46 mph."

Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report "Aircraft destroyed". As a result, the registration G-CEPN was cancelled by the CAA on 20/2/2018 as "destroyed"

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: AAIB
Report number: EW/C2017/06/02
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 8 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a82ee9c40f0b62305b9518c/Kolb_FireFly_G-CEPN_03-18.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/
3. http://www.thecomet.net/motoring/light-aircraft-crashes-in-field-near-walkern-1-5069926
4. https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/live-updates-as-plane-crashes-in-field-in-luffenhall-near-buntingford/story-30400312-detail/story.html
5. https://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=104502
6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-40354905
7. http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000109838L.html
8. http://www.thecomet.net/motoring/pilot-killed-in-light-aircraft-crash-near-walkern-police-confirm-1-5071369
9. https://ukga.com/airfield/cottered


Media:

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
20-Jun-2017 16:57 Geno Added
20-Jun-2017 17:45 Iceman 29 Updated [Time, Source, Embed code]
20-Jun-2017 17:55 Iceman 29 Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Embed code, Plane category]
20-Jun-2017 19:04 harro Updated [Aircraft type]
21-Jun-2017 13:19 Dr. John Smith Updated [Phase, Nature, Source, Narrative]
21-Jun-2017 13:44 Dr. John Smith Updated [Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
21-Jun-2017 14:03 Dr. John Smith Updated [Embed code]
21-Jun-2017 15:35 Aerossurance Updated [Location, Embed code]
21-Jun-2017 17:20 Iceman 29 Updated [Total fatalities, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
08-Mar-2018 14:24 Dr. John Smith Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative]
08-Mar-2018 14:26 Dr. John Smith Updated [Narrative]
08-Mar-2018 20:26 harro Updated [Time]
12-Mar-2018 14:44 Dr. John Smith Updated [Embed code]
20-Apr-2018 17:37 Dr. John Smith Updated [Embed code]
20-Apr-2018 17:38 Dr. John Smith Updated [Embed code]

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