ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 175171
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| Date: | Tuesday 7 April 2015 |
| Time: | 11:20 |
| Type: |  Comco Ikarus C42 |
| Owner/operator: | Newtownards Microlight Group |
| Registration: | G-CEDR |
| MSN: | 0606-6833 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2006 |
| Engine model: | Rotax 912-UL |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Newtownards Airfield, Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Newtownards Airfield (EGAD) |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The victim of the aircraft crash at Newtownards Airfield has been named as Co Down man Stephen McKnight. The experienced pilot died after the privately-owned microlight plane he was flying alone nose-dived shortly after take-off yesterday morning.
An eyewitness claimed that the aircraft had just climbed into the air when it suddenly banked to the left and plummeted to the ground. Fire appliances and two ambulances rushed to the Co Down airstrip to remove Mr McKnight from the C42 microlight after it crashed in near perfect flying conditions around 11.25 am.
A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Fire Service said he was not trapped in the wreckage. He was rushed to the Ulster Hospital by paramedics but died there shortly afterwards.
The plane was severely damaged in the crash and is now being examined by a team of experts from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). The horrific crash is the first fatality at the Newtownards airport in living memory.
Mr McKnight was a married man in his 60s and was flying the aircraft which he co-owned as part of a syndicate group called Newtownards Microlight Group.
UPDATE: Per the official AAIB report into the accident (see link #8): "The pilot was practising circuits. About fifty minutes into the flight, just after an increase in power during a touch-and-go landing, the aircraft was seen to enter a climbing left turn at low height. As it continued to climb, the angle of bank was observed to increase steadily until the nose dropped and the aircraft descended, striking the grass surface to the left of the runway in a steep nose-down attitude. The pilot was fatally injured. There was evidence to indicate that the accident could have been due to incapacitation".
Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report "aircraft destroyed". As a result, the registration G-CEDR was cancelled by the CAA on 14-10-2015 as "destroyed"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/newtownards-plane-crash-flying-enthusiasts-watch-in-horror-as-local-pilot-plunges-to-his-death-in-microlight-31126103.html
2. http://www.u.tv/News/2015/04/07/Light-aircraft-crashes-at-Ards-Airport-34952
3. https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/plane-crashes-newtownards-airfield---8994802
4. http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=7629584&nseq=7
5. http://www.comco-ikarus.de/Pages/produkte-comco/c42-uk.php?lang=en
6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-32206410
7. CAA: http://www.caa.co.uk/aircraft-registration/
8. AAIB: https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/56f16cafe5274a14d7000016/Ikarus_C42_FB80_G-CEDR_04-16.pdf
Media:
The AAIB has deployed a team to investigate a light aircraft accident at Newtownards, Northern Ireland
— AAIB (@aaibgovuk) April 7, 2015
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Apr-2015 11:46 | gerard57 | Added |
| 07-Apr-2015 13:31 | Crabfat | Updated [Total fatalities, Narrative] |
| 07-Apr-2015 13:47 | Anon. | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration] |
| 07-Apr-2015 15:57 | Geno | Updated [Cn, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Plane category] |
| 07-Apr-2015 17:46 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 19-Apr-2015 19:19 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 19-Apr-2015 19:21 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator] |
| 20-Apr-2015 13:37 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 20-Apr-2015 13:48 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Phase, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
| 06-Jul-2015 00:41 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 11-Oct-2015 16:54 | alancm | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
| 12-Feb-2016 00:11 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 14-Apr-2016 17:13 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
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