ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 272553
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| Date: | Saturday 27 November 2004 |
| Time: | 11:10 UTC |
| Type: |  Druine D-31 Turbulent |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | ZS-UFZ |
| MSN: | 1 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Sugar cane field next to the Kaapsehoop, 3 nm SW of Nelspruit -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Nelspruit Airport (NLP/FANS) |
| Nelspruit Airport (NLP/FANS) | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft was subjected to a test flight after extensive repairs were carried and a different engine was fitted. After the required pre-flight checks were carried out the pilot took-off from Runway 04 at Nelspruit Aerodrome. The pilot stated that since the take-off, he was only able to obtain a 200 feet per minute rate of climb. The engine started to loose power approximately 5 minutes after take-off, while still in the climb attitude. The pilot stated that the engine further lost power from a higher RPM to idle in approximately a minute. He had no other option than to carry out a forced landing in a sugar cane field in the late downwind area of the circuit. During the landing his face impacted the instrument panel, but besides smaller lacerations he was not seriously injured. The aircraft was extensively damaged.
The pilot was the holder of a valid Airline Transport Pilot license, but although his test pilot rating was approved, the process of endorsing the rating on his pilot license was not completed.
The Annual Inspection and repairs of the aircraft was certified on 24 October 2004, but it still needed to be registered in the name of the owner and an Authority to Fly needed to be issued. The test flight was carried out before these documents were issued.
During the investigation no tentative cause for the engine power loss could be established, however a point of concern was the play in the ignition timing advance/retard system.
=Probable Cause=
The aircraft suffered an engine power loss during the test flight. However the exact cause of this engine power loss could not be determined.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. South African CAA at https://aviation-safety.net/reports/2004/20041127_D31_ZS-UFZ.pdf
2. http://avcom.co.za/airport2/aircraftview.php?showdetail=&Registration=ZS-UFZ
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelspruit_Airport
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
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