ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 189358
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| Date: | Wednesday 26 October 2005 |
| Time: | 12:30 |
| Type: |  PZL-110 Koliber 160A |
| Owner/operator: | Koliber (No.1) Ltd |
| Registration: | G-BZAJ |
| MSN: | 04990082 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1999 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320-D2A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Clayton, Sussex Downs, 6 miles N of Brighton, West Sussex -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | North Weald, Essex (EGSX) |
| Bembridge Airfield, Isle of Wight (EGHJ) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
G-BZAJ was a PZL Koliber 160A: a slightly uprated version of what started life as the Morane-Saulnier MS.880 Rallye,
later became the SOCATA (that's the Societé de Construction d'Avions de Tourisme et d'Affaires) Rallye and was then licensed to PZL (Panstwowe Zaklady Lotnicze) Warszawa-Okêcie, who now manufacture it as the Koliber ("Hummingbird"). Both SOCATA and PZL are now parts of EADS.
Unfortunately, G-BZAJ suffered an accident on October 26 2005 when it crashed near Clayton, Sussex Downs, 6 miles North of Brighton, West Sussex, and is no more. Even the most tolerant of aircraft can't survive a collision with the South Downs, but it's a tribute to her construction that the pilot walked away with only minor injuries. According to the following excerpt from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"The pilot intended to fly from North Weald Aerodrome to Bembridge (Isle of Wight) Aerodrome, a route with which he was familiar. On his arrival at North Weald the local weather was good and he checked the METARs for Stansted, Gatwick and Southampton. These all indicated a visibility greater than 10 km and no scattered cloud below 1,400 feet agl. With no apparent weather limitations, the pilot planned his route to pass east of London crossing Mayfield and Goodwood VORs and then on to Bembridge.
He took off at 11:39 hours and climbed to 1,900 feet amsl for his initial cruise. Initially, the weather was excellent but, as he passed to the east of Gatwick, he experienced some light turbulence and scattered cloud and he descended to 1,700 ft amsl. At about 12:10 hours, he listened to the Southampton weather frequency (VOLMET), which was broadcasting a visibility of 10 km and cloud scattered at 2,000 feet agl.
Then, after passing Mayfield VOR, the pilot became aware of a lowering cloud base and he reduced his altitude to 1,200 feet amsl. Shortly after, the visibility also began to reduce and the pilot was unable to locate one of his planned geographical reference points. He was aware that he was now lost and becoming disorientated and so he decided to turn back towards Mayfield.
However, as he was turning left, he suddenly saw ground directly ahead of the aircraft and pulled back hard on the control column. As the nose of the aircraft came up, the pilot felt the aircraft hit the ground. He was knocked unconscious during the impact and, when he regained consciousness, the aircraft was at rest with the gear detached and the canopy slightly open.
The pilot was in pain and aware of minor cuts to his face and arms but he was mobile. After switching off the fuel and electrics, he walked across a field and down a lane, where he met police personnel coming to investigate the reports of a crashed aircraft. At the time, the area was covered in thick fog. The elevation of the crash site was approximately 600 feet amsl".
Nature of Damage to airframe: Per the AAIB report "Extensive" damage sustained. As a result, the aircraft was later assessed as "beyond economic repair", and the registration G-BZAJ was cancelled by the CAA on 09-05-2006 as "Destroyed"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f22eed915d13710003c5/PZL-Koliber_160A__G-BZAJ_2-06.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=BZAJ
3. http://www.clupeid.demon.co.uk/flying/gbzaj.htm
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4379610.stm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Aug-2016 19:57 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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