ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 187516
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| Date: | Saturday 8 January 1994 |
| Time: | 10:10 |
| Type: |  Cameron D-96 Airship |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | G-BEPZ |
| MSN: | 300 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Savernake Forest, near Marlborough, Wiltshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Savernake Forest near Marlborough, Wiltshire |
| Savernake Forest near Marlborough, Wiltshire | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Cameron D-96 Airship G-BEPL: First flown: 15 July 1977, Blaise Castle, Avon. On the 8th January 1994, at the Icicle Meet, Warren Farm, Savernake, Wiltshire, this airship made the local news when the engine failed and the airship became entangled in the trees. The local fire brigade were called to get the pilot and crew down. Later the BBC did an action replay for a programme called 999. Focussing on the rescue. The envelope was destroyed but the BBM&L (British Balloon Museum & Library) have the gondola (the airship car). According to the following extract from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"After lift off of the airship, the pilot initiated a shallow climb,following by a right-hand turn, with the intention of staying at low level within the boundaries of the launch site field. During the climb out, left rudder was applied, to maintain the desired track, but the airship did not respond, and continued in a right hand turn towards the downwind boundary of the field.
The pilot became aware that the airship was on a collision course with the some large trees, and, as the rudder appeared to be ineffective, and there was insufficient space available in which to land safely, he decided to initiate a climb in order to avoid the trees.
Despite the use of double burner, the airship was unable to rise quickly enough to avoid the trees, and collided with tree branches coming to rest at 75 to 80 feet agl".
Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report "No significant damage due to the accident, but airship was destroyed during the recovery operation". As a result, the registration G-BEPZ was cancelled by the CAA on 24 April 1994 as "Permanently withdrawn from use"
Savernake Forest stands on a Cretaceous chalk plateau between Marlborough and Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England. Its area is approximately 4,500 acres. Most of the forest lies within the civil parish of Savernake
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422ef1e40f0b61342000221/Cameron_D-96_Airship__G-BEPZ_03-94.pdf
2. CAA: https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-BEPZ.pdf
3. G-BEPZ at Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire 27 May 1998 in "Zanussi" livery: https://www.airhistory.net/photo/130825/G-BEPZ
4. https://www.bbml.org.uk/envelopes/g-bepz/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savernake_Forest
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-May-2016 14:17 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 04-Sep-2022 21:07 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 04-Sep-2022 21:09 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
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