ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 182959
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| Date: | Saturday 2 April 1988 |
| Time: | 08:40 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee |
| Owner/operator: | Executive Communications Ltd |
| Registration: | G-ATUC |
| MSN: | 28-21975 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Ratlinghope, 4 miles W of Church Stretton, Shropshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Halfpenny Green, Bobbington, Stourbridge (EGBO) |
| Halfpenny Green, Bobbington, Stourbridge (EGBO) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) 2/4/1988 when crashed at Ratlinghope, four miles west of Church Stretton, Shropshire, whilst on a training flight from Halfpenny Green, Bobbington, Stourbridge (EGBO). Cause of crash attributed to the build up of ice on the wings, windscreen, and in the engine. The two crew (pilot under training and instructor) were seriously injured. According to the following extract from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"The pilot recalled that, shortly after entering cloud at 3,000 feet, he experienced a sudden build up on ice on the wings and the windscreen. This was followed by a partial loss of engine power, with associated rough running, despite the fact that carburettor heat was selected.
Having advised Air Traffic Control of the problem, a turn was started to point the aircraft onto a track towards Birmingham. However, the pilot found that he was unable to maintain altitude, and so, having worked out that he was probably in the Long Mynd area, tried to find the local gliding site, where he planned to try and land.
However, the Long Mynd gliding site, which is at 1500 feet amsl, was within the base of the cloud at the time. The aircraft broke through the could in a valley by Ratlinghope, near Church Stretton, Shropshire, where the could base was below the tops of the surrounding hills. The aircraft's engine was, by this stage producing little or no power, and the pilot remembers setting up the aircraft for a forced landing, but could not recall the final stages of the approach and landing
The intended landing area was only marginally suitable for such a forced landing, and the aircraft struck a tree shortly before touchdown in a field at about 1,250 amsl. The first rescuers to arrive at the accident site did not see any ice on the aircraft, but did notice a strong smell of fuel. Although the impact was at relatively low speed, and the forward cabin area remained largely intact, both occupants, who were wearing diagonal type harnesses, sustained serious injuries"
Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report "Aircraft destroyed". Despite this, the wreckage was sold on to a new owner on 27/7/1988 (four months later) presumably for parts recovery. The registration G-ATUC was finally cancelled by the CAA on 28/3/1995 (seven years after the accident) as "permanently withdrawn from use"
In a strange twist, G-ATUC was used in 1976 during filming of the TV Series "The New Avengers" (Specifically series 1, episode 5, "Cat Among The Pigeons"). During this episode a plane crash was staged, using an already wrecked Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee, and, in order to prevent a continuity error, the wreckage was painted up as "G-ATUC" (see links #3 and #4).
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/5422f19be5274a131700039f/Piper_PA28-140_Cherokee__G-ATUC__06-88.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=ATUC
3. http://www.impdb.org/index.php?title=The_New_Avengers
4. http://www.dissolute.com.au/the-avengers-tv-series/new-avengers/n05-cat-amongst-the-pigeons-other.html#
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratlinghope
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 31-Dec-2015 02:26 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 31-Dec-2015 03:31 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 01-Jan-2016 19:25 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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