ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 188265
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Saturday 25 October 1997 |
| Time: | 15:00 |
| Type: |  Navion H Rangemaster |
| Owner/operator: | Navion Airways Inc Trustee |
| Registration: | N2548T |
| MSN: | NAV-4-2548 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Shoreham Airport, Cecil Pashley Way, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Guernsey Airport, Guernsey, Channel Islands (EGJB) |
| Shoreham Airport, Shoreham, West Sussex (EGKA) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
North American Navion H Rangemaster N2848T: Build completed 22-9-1970 (according to the data plate on the bulkhead). Substantially damaged 23-10-1997: Sustained substantial damage to airframe structure in a heavy landing at Shoreham Airport, Cecil Pashley Way, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. No injuries sustained to the 4 person on board (pilot and 3 passengers). According to the following excerpt from the official AAIB report:
"The pilot was engaged on a flight from Guernsey to Shoreham with three passengers. During the final stages of the approach to land at Shoreham, the pilot's seat moved rearwards and the aircraft pitched up due to his inadvertent movement of the control column. The aircraft landed heavily and although there were no injuries, the aircraft suffered damage from the impact and associated inertial loads.
Examination of the aircraft shortly after the accident showed that the pilot's seat locking mechanism was disengaged. The mechanism consists of a single pin sliding vertically in a tube. The pin is moved up or down by a lever with a handle at the front of the seat. A spring assists the engagement of the pin into the seat rail. It was found that the pin could jam in the tube, preventing it from being moved down by the spring. In addition, one of the locating holes in the seat rail appeared slightly undersize such that the pin could not be properly engaged in the hole.
Even with the seat not properly located, it was at times quite difficult to move the seat backwards unless a large force was applied sufficiently low down on the seat structure. Pushing back normally applies a load part way up the seat back and this, together with some of the pilot's weight still acting on the seat squab, was sufficient to prevent movement and possibly gave a false impression of the seat being secure. No damage or obvious defects were found associated with the seat mechanism.
The maintenance organisation took the view that the pilot had probably engaged the seat in the position with the defective hole, causing it to break free later. The pilot stated that the seat was secure throughout the flight, but noted that he had applied pressure to the brakes shortly before landing. He considered that this action could have either dislodged the pin, if it was not properly engaged, or if the seat had been jammed on the rails in an intermediate position, could have freed the seat, allowing it to move later".
Damage sustained to airframe: Per the AAIB report "Damage to airframe structure from heavy landing".
The pilot did not report this accident to the AAIB. It came to learn of it through the maintenance organisation, presumably charged with repairing the accident damage, and the insurance company surveyor, against whose employer presumably a claim for indemnity had been made. Thus the AAIB addressed enquiries to the pilot, for the purpose of investigating this accident, but the pilot returned the enquiry form uncompleted save for asserting that UK aviation regulations did not apply to him, the Navion or the accident because the aircraft is US registered. Seemingly this received short shrift from the AAIB, which informed the pilot that his assertion was incorrect. On the subject the AAIB report states the following:
Quote: "The Federal Aviation Administration office at Heathrow Airport has been kept advised of the status of this investigation however, under the provisions of ICAO Annex 13, aircraft accident investigations are the responsibility of the State in which associated accidents occur. UK legislation gives the AAIB legal power to conduct such investigations. The furnishing of the required details to the AAIB is mandatory", and it concludes with the remark that "...the pilot involved has been advised accordingly". It does not say whether the pilot, suitably chastened, then completed and returned the AAIB enquiry form!
However, it would appear that the aircraft was repaired. The US registration N2548T was cancelled on 12-03-2014, and there are reports that the aircraft was re-registered in Guernsey as 2-RICH (see links #2 and #3 below)
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422fea4ed915d13710009bd/dft_avsafety_pdf_501592.pdf
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=2548T
3. http://www.civilianaviation.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=107&t=16819
4. https://www.2-reg.com/ and http://oceanskies.com/guernsey-launches-2-reg-aircraft-registry/
5. https://www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/2-RICH/834880
6. 52 Assorted photos of N2548T/2-RICH: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/n2548t
7. N2548T at Hurn/Bournemouth EGHH) 24/9/1995: https://www.airhistory.net/photo/208577/N2548T
8. https://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=18055.0
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Jun-2016 12:08 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 20-Dec-2020 21:07 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Accident report] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation