ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 186240
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| Date: | Wednesday 17 July 1991 |
| Time: | 09:30 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31 Navajo |
| Owner/operator: | Janes Aviation Ltd |
| Registration: | G-LYDD |
| MSN: | 31-537 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Lydd Airport, Ashford, Kent -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Lydd, Ashford, Kent (LYX/EGMD) |
| Squires Gate, Blackpool, Lancashire (BLK/EGNH) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (damaged beyond repair) 17 July 1991 when the outboard 5 feet of the aircraft's right wing exploded and disintegrated during the take off run from Lydd Airport, Ashford, Kent to Blackpool, Lancashire.
The aircraft, which had not flown for over 2 years, had been worked-on during the days before this flight, and had to be ferried to Blackpool with two pilots on board. On the morning of 17 July 1991, as Piper Navajo G-LYDD was rolling down the runway at Lydd Airport to take off, there was a loud explosion which removed a five foot section of its outer starboard wing and aileron. The extent of the damage can be seen in the attached photograph, which is appended to the AAIB report into the incident. There was no fire and the two crew on board were able to leave the aircraft unaided and uninjured. However presumably the damage suffered by the Navajo put it beyond economic repair as it registration was cancelled by the CAA on 30 March 1993 as permanently withdrawn from use.
It would appear that the cause of the incident was a fuel leak, caused by a loose valve and/or a perished seal, in the pressurised 'bladder' type fuel tank in the starboard wing, and/or the material of the tank having become porous. This allowed fuel or fuel vapour to escape into the outboard wing, that was then ignited by an electrical component in that portion of the wing. It was extremely fortunate that this incident, which apparently had no precedent in this type of aircraft, did not lead to a fire or occur after the Navajo had left the ground (in which latter event it is highly likely that there would have been a fatal crash with two lives lost as the Navajo almost certainly would not have been 'flyable' minus a five foot section of its outboard wing and aileron).
Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report "outboard section of right wing and aileron explosively detached". Piper PA-31 Navajo G-LYDD was built in 1970, and was originally US Registered in 1970 as N6796L. It was first UK registered as G-BBDU on 30 July 1973. After three owners as G-BBDU, it was re-registered as G-LYDD on 8 May 1989. However, the registration G-LYDD was only cancelled by the CAA on 30 March 1993 (almost two years later) as "Permanently withdrawn from use"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/542302c2ed915d1374000b53/Piper_PA-31_Navajo__G-LYDD_10-91.pdf
2. CAA: History as G-BBDU 1973-1986: https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-BBDU.pdf
3. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-piper-pa-31-310-navajo-lydd
4. https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/G-LYDD.html
5. G-LYDD when G-BBDU at Newcastle Airport (EGNT) on 1/5/1989: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1124169
6. History 1986-1987: http://saadonline.uk/archives/6512
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Apr-2016 20:53 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 19-Nov-2020 17:34 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Accident report] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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