ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 146779
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| Date: | Thursday 20 January 1994 |
| Time: | 17:22 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-34-200 Seneca |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | G-BARB |
| MSN: | 34-7350085 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Near Bloxwich, West Midlands -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Birmingham Airport, Elmdon, Birmingham (BHX/EGBB) |
| Isle of Man Airport Ronaldsway (EGNS) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Destroyed when crashed 20-1-1994: The aircraft was flying from Birmingham Airport to the Isle of Man with one pilot and three passengers on board. The aircraft crashed into the ground about 100 yards from the M6 Motorway near Bloxwich, West Midlands. The cause of the accident was loss of control at low speed and low height in bad weather and at night. All four person on board were killed. According to the following extract from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"G-BARB had come to rest on common land about 100 yards east of the M6 motorway. The aircraft was inverted and the complete empennage and both wings outboard of the flaps were missing. It had struck the ground with high vertical velocity and with some motion towards the left (port) engine, but with little or no forward speed. Neither propeller showed evidence of power at impact.
The missing portions of the wings, rear fuselage and tail were found at various locations over the adjacent built-up area of Bloxwich at distances of up to half a mile from the main wreckage. From the track of the aircraft and the winds obtained from a Meteorological Office after cast , a wind-drift plot was compiled. This indicated that the detachment of the outboard wings and tail section had occurred over a period of not more than a few seconds at a height of approximately 1,500 to 2,000feet agl.
The wreckage break-up pattern indicated that the right and left wingtips, each complete with an outboard fuel tank, had separated from the aircraft in a similar manner. The right wingtip had then struck the right stabilator, causing it to break away in an upwards direction, and causing the rest of the empennage to separate at about the same time.
There was no evidence of fatigue or other preexisting structural defects. There was evidence that the wingtips had separated in a downwards bending mode associated, in the case of the right tip, with a nose-down pitching moment and there was also evidence on both wings of load reversal. This suggested a short period during the return to level flight when the aircraft had been over-stressed to the point of structural failure. This was considered consistent with the high vertical speed shown by the radar data, which implied a high airspeed with a probability of high structural loads during the recovery. No evidence of flutter as an initial event was found.
It was apparent that the aircraft had been recovered from this descent at some stage but that during this recovery it had been subjected to excessive forces which caused structural failure. Something happened while G-BARB was levelling out at FL60 to cause the loss of control. An extensive engineering investigation was able to discount all likely engineering or technical causes which may have contributed to the accident. However, it remains possible that some technical or other problem occurred which may have been resolved in the air but which nevertheless initiated the loss of control."
Damage sustained by airframe: Per the AAIB report "aircraft destroyed". As a result, the registration G-BARB was cancelled by the CAA on 20-5-1994 as owners "Addressee Status: Deceased"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/5422fca3e5274a131400086f/dft_avsafety_pdf_502128.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=BARB
3. https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1333189/
4. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/aircraft-crash-kills-four-1401474.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Jul-2012 13:31 | ryan | Added |
| 12-Oct-2012 12:47 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Jan-2013 07:40 | kmkzi369 | Updated [Narrative] |
| 23-Jun-2013 14:06 | ryan | Updated [Source] |
| 22-May-2016 15:49 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
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