Date:	Sunday 20 March 2016
Time:	16:00
Type:	Comco Ikarus C42 FB100
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:	G-CDNR
MSN:	0507-6696
Year of manufacture:	2005
Engine model:	Rotax 912 ULS
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Stoke Medway Airfield, Burrows Lane, Middle Stoke, Isle of Grain, Kent -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	Stoke Medway Airfield, Isle of Grain, Kent (EG-93)
Destination airport:	Stoke Medway Airfield, Isle of Grain, Kent (EG-93)
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
An ultralight aircraft hit an electricity pylon and crashed into a field at Stoke Medway Airfield, Burrows Lane, Middle Stoke, Isle of Grain, near Rochester in Kent on 20 March 2016. The pilot was pronounced dead at the scene. Fire crews had to use foam to extinguish the flames. The official report into the accident was published by the AAIB on 11 May 2017, and the following is an excerpt from that report...

"The pilot had qualified as a weight shift microlight pilot in August 2013 and decided to convert to three-axis microlights in 2015. His first solo flight in a three-axis aircraft was in the Ikarus on 12 February 2015, after 13.75 hours of training. He had made an appointment to take up three-axis flying again on 20 March 2016.

The instructor arrived at the airfield at approximately 1000 hours and checked the weather. The forecast was for a 1,400 ft cloud base with a light wind down Runway 06, which was suitable for training and solo flights. He moved the aircraft out of the hangar, carried out the daily inspection and then washed it.

The pilot arrived at about 1130 hrs and discussed with the instructor the plan for the day, which was to make a number of 30-minute flights to continue his three-axis training. They conducted two training flights in the morning, covering takeoffs, climbing, emergencies in the circuit and use of flaps. As expected, after a year since his last three-axis flight, the pilot was a “little rusty” on the first couple of landings.

Following a demonstration by the instructor and some further practice, the pilot improved measurably to a competent solo standard. Following a debrief in the cockpit, the instructor took the pilot into the training room and gave him a presentation on the use and effects of different flap settings. He also talked about the importance of aircraft attitude during a go-around.

They carried out a third dual flight during which the instructor simulated an engine failure after takeoff, followed by a simulated engine failure downwind, from which the pilot landed. He flew competently on his second circuit and seemed calm and ready to go solo. The engine was shut down and the instructor briefed the pilot to fly out to the Isle of Sheppey, an area that he was familiar with, and practice some climbing and descending turns. The pilot seemed happy to be flying solo again and, after restarting the engine, taxied back to the threshold of Runway 06.

The instructor observed the takeoff. He heard the pilot apply full power and saw the aircraft become airborne. It climbed very quickly and reached a very high nose-up attitude, which the instructor described as the aircraft “hanging on its prop”.

The aircraft drifted left over the railway line that runs alongside the runway before dropping the left wing, descending and striking a set of high-tension power cables. There was a bright flash and the aircraft fell to the ground. The instructor and club members ran to the accident site and attempted to extinguish the post-crash fire with hand held fire extinguishers. The pilot had sustained fatal injuries."

Registration G-CDNR cancelled by the CAA on 8-4-2016 as "destroyed"
_________________________________________________

=AAIB Conclusion=
The pilot had demonstrated that he was competent to fly the aircraft before undertaking the solo flight and yet the aircraft was seen to climb very steeply before control was lost.

The extreme angle of climb and wing drop were not reproduced in the ‘Open Loop’ (hands‑off) takeoffs during flight testing and this suggests that either the accident pilot had made a deliberate and sustained aft side stick control input, or a failure of the aircraft occurred, resulting in the steep climb and a reduction in airspeed. The continued reduction in airspeed led to a stall, left wing drop and departure from controlled flight, with insufficient height to recover before striking the cables.

There was insufficient evidence available to determine which possibility was more likely

=Damage sustained to airframe=
Per the AAIB Report "aircraft destroyed"

1. AAIB Final Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/58ef8f4bed915d06ac0001ac/Ikarus_C42_FB100_G-CDNR_05-17.pdf
2. http://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/microlight-plane-crashes-into-field-93000/
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-35856354
4. http://www.kent.fire-uk.org/news/incidents/?entryid2=7962
5. http://airfieldcards.com/index.php/menusierra/stoke
6. https://ukga.com/airfield/stoke/reviews
7. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-35860140
8. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-aaib-is-deploying-a-team-to-stoke-medway-airfield-kent
9. https://ukga.com/images/content/image22580.jp.
10. https://www.ukairfieldguide.net/airfields/StokeAirfield
11. https://airportguide.com/airport/info/EG93

This Comco Ikarus C42 FB100 was built in 2005, and was first registered (from new) as G-CDNR on 12 August 2005. The aircraft was re-registered to its second owner on 14 June 2008, and then its third (and ultimately final) owner on 17 August 2012. As at 31 December 2014, G-CDNR had accumulated a total of 2,076 flying hours on the airframe.

As the AAIB report confirmed, the aircraft was destroyed in the accident on 20 March 2016; as a result, the registration was cancelled (and the airframe de-registered) on 8 April 2016 as "destroyed"

Ikarus C42 FB100 'G-CDNR' (c/no. 0507-6696, Built 2005) On display at the 2014 Little Gransden Air & Car Show Little Gransden, Cambridgeshire 24 August 2014:

Fatal accident to Ikarus C42 microlight, 20 Mar 16 https://t.co/qsRCseipCb pic.twitter.com/KXTfUD8hEw

— AAIB (@aaibgovuk) May 11, 2017

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
20-Mar-2016 19:58	FERRYAIR	Added
20-Mar-2016 20:02	harro	Updated [Aircraft type, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Source, Damage, Narrative, ]
20-Mar-2016 20:26	Anon.	Updated [Source, ]
20-Mar-2016 21:39	Geno	Updated [Time, Location, Destination airport, Source, ]
20-Mar-2016 22:23	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Operator, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ]
20-Mar-2016 22:25	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Location, Destination airport, Embed code, ]
20-Mar-2016 22:26	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Location, ]
21-Mar-2016 10:39	Aerossurance	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
21-Mar-2016 10:39	Aerossurance	Updated [Destination airport, ]
21-Mar-2016 18:59	Iceman 29	Updated [Location, Destination airport, Source, Photo, ]
23-Mar-2016 15:37	LOADMASTER	Updated [Registration, Source, ]
23-Mar-2016 15:40	harro	Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, ]
31-Mar-2016 16:12	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, ]
21-Apr-2016 19:43	Anon.	Updated [Phase, ]
15-Jul-2016 14:54	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Location, Destination airport, ]
12-May-2017 22:47	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Time, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
12-May-2017 22:49	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
12-May-2017 22:50	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
13-May-2017 01:06	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Source, Embed code, ]
10-Jun-2017 09:45	Iceman 29	Updated [Embed code, Narrative, ]
19-Sep-2018 17:52	harro	Updated [Embed code, Accident report, ]
06-May-2024 09:56	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category, ]