ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 191862
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| Date: | Sunday 4 December 2016 |
| Time: | 12:35 LT |
| Type: |  Schleicher ASW 24 |
| Owner/operator: | Matthew Douglas Wright (regd owner) |
| Registration: | G-CFNG |
| MSN: | 24015 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1988 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Brentor, Dartmoor, Devon -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | North Hill, near Broadhumbury, Devon |
| North Hill, near Broadhumbury, Devon | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
AAIB investigation to Schleicher ASW 24, G-CFNG: Attempted circuit following launch failure, Brentor Airfield, Devon, 4 December 2016. The AAIB final report was published on 8-2-2018, and the following the summary from that report:
"During a glider winch launch in turbulent conditions the weak link parted. The pilot attempted to fly a circuit to land near the launch point but the glider encountered significant sink and had insufficient energy to complete the intended circuit. The pilot sustained fatal injuries in the impact with the ground".
According to contemporary newspaper reports:
"When the winch launch failed there was sufficient distance available to land directly ahead and turning away from the landing area committed the pilot to attempting a circuit in unpredictable conditions. Assessment of the data from the Discus B shows that there were regions of significant sinking air. While it is difficult to be certain of the exact conditions for the accident flight, the general meteorological situation remained and therefore it is highly probable that there would have been significant areas of turbulent and down-draughting air in the area at the time of the accident. Sinking air of a similar magnitude to the conditions encountered by the Discus B would have removed any chance of completing a circuit from the height achieved by the accident aircraft. Regardless of the pilot’s significant experience the area of sinking air meant that the glider did not have the performance to complete the circuit safely.
Lisa Humphries, chairwoman of the Devon & Somerset Gliding Club, paid tribute to Mr Wright describing him as an "experienced pilot".
She said: "Matt Wright was a highly experienced pilot and friend to all of us at the Devon and Somerset Gliding Club. He was always full of energy and loved every aspect of aviation. Not only was he an expert glider pilot, but also an accomplished commercial Airline Captain, film maker and cartoonist. Our sincere condolences go to his family at this sad time."
Mr Wright had more than 14,000 followers on his YouTube channel. He was well-known in the gliding community for his film-making. He had previously been in an accident with a Schleicher ASW 20 in 2013: see https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=155862
Registration G-CFNG cancelled by the CAA on 3-8-2017 as "destroyed" and "owner deceased"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB Final Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a5f158c40f0b652634c6f36/Schleicher_ASW_24_G-CFNG_02-18.pdf
2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-38214937
3. http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000188552.html
4, https://www.devonlive.com/popular-glider-pilot-dies-in-crash-on-dartmoor/story-29958653-detail/story.html
5. CAA: https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?catid=1&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=reg&fullregmark=CFNG
6. https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/popular-gliding-youtuber-matt-wright-337410
7. http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/update/2016-12-05/inquiry-underway-after-glider-pilot-dies/
8. BFU Bulletin 16.12: https://www.bfu-web.de/DE/Home/homepage_node.htmlDE/Publikationen/Bulletins/2016/Bulletin2016-12.pdf?__blob=publicationFile
9. BGA (British Gliding Association) Final Report: https://members.gliding.co.uk/library/investigation-reports/asw24-aaib-accident-report-2018/
Media:
Beautiful cloud scapes in Denbigh - Video in the pipeline #epicsoaring pic.twitter.com/f0bmSn74yR
— Matt Wright (@ballekaMATT) November 3, 2016
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Dec-2016 08:21 | Alpine Flight | Added |
| 05-Dec-2016 13:44 | Alpine Flight | Updated [Time, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Dec-2016 13:57 | Alpine Flight | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Dec-2016 16:23 | Geno | Updated [Source] |
| 08-Dec-2016 16:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 16-Apr-2017 19:54 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Phase, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 09-Feb-2018 14:43 | harro | Updated [Narrative] |
| 09-Feb-2018 14:44 | harro | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
| 29-Sep-2020 22:22 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative, Accident report] |
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