ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 146995
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| Date: | Saturday 4 October 2003 |
| Time: | 10:13 |
| Type: |  Cessna 172N Skyhawk II |
| Owner/operator: | Studio 916 Ltd |
| Registration: | G-BUAN |
| MSN: | 172-70290 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1977 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320-H2AD |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | English Channel, 6 miles south of the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | St. Just, Lands End, Cornwall (EGHC) |
| St Mary's Aerodrome, Isles of Scilly (EGHE) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) 04-10-2003 when crashed into the sea and sank into the English Channel, 6 miles south of the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall. The three persons on board (pilot and two passengers) managed to escape from the sinking aircraft - the pilot with some difficulty - and were rescued by a fishing boat, the "Semper Allegro". Some media reports state that the three persons on board were ex-Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Search-and-Rescue pilots, aged 83, 81 and 79 years old respectively. According to the following excerpt from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"The aircraft was one of a group of seven that was participating in a Fleet Air Arm Squadron 'fly in' from Kemble to the Scilly Isles. It was en-route from Lands End to the Isles of Scilly at 2,000 feet when, without warning, the engine stopped. The engine failure drills were carried out but a restart was unsuccessful and an emergency call was made to St Mary's ATC to advise them that the aircraft was ditching.
The aircraft touched down on the top of a wave crest heading into a 12 kt headwind. The passengers were able to make a rapid exit but the pilot caught his foot on the cockpit coaming and was only able to free himself when the aircraft had sunk to a depth of approximately 10 feet. A nearby fishing vessel rescued the occupants and a search and rescue helicopter airlifted them to hospital. The aircraft was not recovered.
It was reported that all the aircraft that day had ample fuel for the flight and none of the other aircraft, flying at a similar level, reported any significant carburettor icing. The accident aircraft's fuel cock had been selected to both tanks and the rapidity with which the engine failure occurred led associates of the pilot to speculate that it may have been caused by a double magneto failure brought about by the failure of the single magneto drive. Later variants of this engine incorporate a double drive to the magnetos. The possibility, however, that some other unidentified problem caused the engine failure cannot be excluded".
Nature of Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report "Aircraft sank and not recovered". As a result, the registration G-BUAN was cancelled by the CAA on 22-07-2004 as "destroyed"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f60e40f0b61346000615/dft_avsafety_pdf_029056.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=BUAN
3. https://www.pprune.org/private-flying/104469-successful-dditching-off-scilly-isles.html
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cornwall/3163840.stm
5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cornwall/3165932.stm
6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cornwall/3794975.stm
7. https://www.flyer.co.uk/c172-ditches-off-isles-of-scilly/
8. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:https://mcanet.mcga.gov.uk/public/news/release.asp?mcga_news_id=2356&month=10&year=2003]
9. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1443353/Pilot-79-saves-friends-in-textbook-ditching-at-sea.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Jul-2012 07:22 | harro | Added |
| 09-Dec-2015 21:04 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Date, Time, Registration, Cn, Total occupants, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 29-Jul-2016 13:28 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
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