ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 184081
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| Date: | Friday 9 June 1989 |
| Time: | 12:30 |
| Type: | Hornet ZA microlight prototype |
| Owner/operator: | Hornet Microlights Ltd |
| Registration: | G-MVPP |
| MSN: | ZA-001 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Martinsell Hill, near Marlborough, Wiltshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Clench Common Airfield, Marlborough, Wiltshire (EG20) |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) 09-06-1989 when spun out of control and crashed on a test flight at Martinsell Hill, near Marlborough, Wiltshire, killing the pilot (the sole person on board). According to the following extracts from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"The aircraft was a prototype engaged in a series of test flights (under a permit to fly) with the aim of gaining type approval. It was decided to conduct a series of test flights with the wing tip fairings fitted.
The aircraft was observed to take off normally from a microlight airstrip at Clench Common, 2 nautical miles south of Marlborough, Wiltshire; the airstrip is at an elevation of 600 feet amsl. The aircraft climbed towards the south at moderate speed , and levelled off at a height of about 400 feet agl
G-MVPP was next seen, some two minutes later, by the pilot of another microlight, who was also airborne in the area. The Hornet microlight was seen to be over Martinsell Hill, which rises to 350 feet above Clench Common, and is located one mile to the south-south west. The aircraft was about 50 feet above the crest of Martinsell Hill in a 30 degree banked turn to the left.
The bank angle steadily increased as the aircraft entered into a spiral dive, before impacting onto the face of Martinsell Hill some 80 feet below the summit. The pilot sustained fatal injuries."
Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report "aircraft destroyed". As a result, the registration G-MVPP was cancelled by the CAA on 02-10-1989 as aircraft "destroyed"
Martinsell Hill, near Oare and north of Pewsey, is the third highest point in the county of Wiltshire, southwest England, at some 289 metres/948 ft above sea level. It is the site of an Iron Age hillfort. Martinsell Hill rises about 2 km east-northeast of the village of Oare, 2 km northwest of the village of Wootton Rivers, and about 4 km north-northeast of the town of Pewsey
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/54230160ed915d1374000aa5/Hornet_ZA_microlight_prototype._G-MVPP_11-89.pdf
2. CAA: https://www.caa.co.uk/aircraft-register/g-info/search-g-info/
3. https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/G-MVPP.html
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinsell_Hill
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Feb-2016 00:23 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 01-Feb-2016 17:36 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 03-Feb-2016 16:12 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 27-Aug-2022 21:37 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative, Category] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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