ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 306129
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| Date: | Sunday 22 January 2023 |
| Time: | c. 14:40 |
| Type: |  Rans S-6ES Coyote II |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Oxford, Canterbury -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Oxford private airstrip |
| Oxford private airstrip | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
The aircraft crashed on to a riverbed soon after taking off.
After lift-off, the aircraft's climb profile was observed by witnesses to be shallower than it had been during previous departures that afternoon. The aircraft was observed to climb to approxima tely 30' to 50' AGL, pitch up slightly and commence a left turn before stalling and crashing on to an adjacent riverbed.
The pilot was able to exit the aircraft on his own while the passenger was helped by first responders
. The aircraft had been operating from the airstrip for most of the day with two others in wind conditions that were described by many as 'fickle'. Both runway vectors had been in use at various times because of the changing wind direction. The aircraft had been refuelled to half full capacity prior to the accident flight however the pilot considered the weight and balance to still be within the allowed limits.
During the take-off the pilot said it took longer to lift off and during the climb he observed that the view of the trees ahead and to the right 'looked different'. He said he became focused on them and the need to turn left about 30 degrees to be over the adjacent river. He did not look at the airspeed or altimeter after that, but he remembered raising the nose of the aircraft slightly, and starting a slight left turn, at which time he noticed a slip to the left. The aircraft then stalled suddenly and dropped on to the riverbed.
In a later interview with CAA, after his own self-analysis, the pilot said he became alarmed soon after lift-off and that he felt startled by all the information he was faced with. He directly contributed his slow reaction time to his age (81), and he now accepted how things can go very wrong, very fast. The investigation found that the most likely causes of this accident were a combination of; a high ambient temperature that reduced aircraft performance; a likely tailwind component that changed the climb profile; and the startle effect and alarm that the pilot experienced as the flight conditions deteriorated.
Sources:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/emergency-services-responding-to-aeroplane-crash-in-oxford-canterbury/3YK5YO4EGVFYNCQDO7XS5XNOHU/
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/one-person-seriously-injured-in-aeroplane-crash-at-oxford-canterbury/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/300789849/passenger-seriously-injured-as-microlight-lands-short-of-runway
https://crux.org.nz/national-news/two-injured-in-plane-crash-in-canterbury/
CAA Occurrence #23/364
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-May-2023 01:51 | Ron Averes | Updated |
| 07-Jul-2023 06:33 | harro | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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