Date:	Monday 8 January 2018
Time:	12:32 LT
Type:	Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior III
Owner/operator:	Aeros Flight Training
Registration:	G-WAVS
MSN:	2842035
Year of manufacture:	1998
Engine model:	Lycoming O-320-D3G
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Bredon Hill, Overbury, Worcestershire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	Coventry Airport, Coventry (EGBE)
Destination airport:	Gloucestershire Airport (GLO/EGBJ)
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
Crash of single engined light aircraft in fog. Emergency services are at the scene and eyewitnesses describe seeing the aircraft in a tree. Both occupants (instructor and student) died in the crash.

The weather at the time of the accident by Ogimet was reported as:
12:50->METAR EGBJ 081250Z 05003KT 3500 -DZ BR BKN006 OVC010 02/02 Q1021=SA08/01/2018 12:20->METAR EGBJ 081220Z 05004KT 8000 -DZ BKN008 OVC011 02/01 Q1021=

UPDATE: The official AAIB report into the accident was published on 8 December 2018, and the following is an excerpt from it...

"The aircraft was being flown by an instructor of a flying school at Coventry Airport. He had conducted some local instructional flying earlier in the day and was then asked by the operations staff if he would deliver the aircraft to its maintenance base at Gloucester Airport.

Such movements were a routine and regular aspect of the school’s operation. The pilot was heard to express some concerns about the weather and appeared anxious to start the trip as soon as possible.

The plan was for two Coventry based aircraft, G-WAVS and G-USAA, both of which required engineering input, to fly to Gloucester at around the same time, each with two pilots aboard. All four pilots would then return to Coventry in another aircraft whose maintenance was concluded.

The instructor on the accident aircraft was accompanied by a student, who was approaching the navigation phase of his training, for whom this flight would provide some additional exposure. The student prepared a route on a 1:500,000 scale aeronautical chart, following a standard route used by the school for such ferry flights. The highest terrain along or immediately adjacent to the route was shown as 1,048 ft amsl, and the maximum elevation figure was 1,400 ft amsl. Both crews conducted briefs and consulted the weather independently. There was no combined brief and no supervision by the flying school management (none was required). The crew of the accident aircraft did not use GPS navigation or flight planning software.

Prior to departure a pilot, believed to be the instructor of the accident aircraft, contacted Wellesbourne Airfield to check the weather conditions there. He was informed that an aircraft airborne in the vicinity had reported cloud overcast at 800 ft agl.

G-USAA departed Coventry Airport at 1206 hrs. G-WAVS, the accident aircraft, departed at 1208 hrs. Both turned south-west towards Stratford-upon-Avon and flew close to Wellesbourne Airfield, which they called by radio. They were aware of their relative proximity and the pilots transmitted air-to-air position checks to ensure their separation.

Southwest of Stratford, the two aircraft followed a very similar track, both maintaining an altitude of approximately 1,000 ft. The cloudbase in the area was approximately 1,000 ft amsl with freezing conditions forecast in cloud. The crew of G-USAA stated later that visibility reduced as the aircraft flew further south and west, and reported having to make frequent use of carburettor heating.

Close to Evesham the aircraft tracks diverged, with G-WAVS flying further to the north. At around 1230 hrs an aircraft believed to be G-WAVS was seen manoeuvring and flying very low in the Evesham area. Radar data indicated this occurred at altitudes between 700 and 1,000 ft amsl.

The aircraft was seen flying south-west toward Elmley Castle. Witnesses in that area described the weather as “quite foggy”. They said they heard an aircraft flying “low” before appearing out of the cloud. One witness remarked that it seemed to be “pulling up”. The witness lost sight of the aircraft as it continued southwest. Shortly afterwards the aircraft struck trees near the summit of Bredon Hill at an elevation of approximately 940 ft and came to rest in a field further south-west.

Following calls to the emergency services the air ambulance was launched at 1240 hrs from the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) base at Strensham Services on the M5. The helicopter pilot reported a cloud base of 500 ft agl and 3 km visibility. These were the minimum conditions for HEMS operations and the air ambulance launched in order to assist. It could not reach the accident site itself, which was significantly above the cloud base, and landed beside the nearby village of Overbury. Farm vehicles drove the medical personnel to the accident site.

Both occupants had suffered fatal injuries."

Damage sustained to airframe: Per the above AAIB report "Aircraft Destroyed". As a result, the registration G-WAVS was cancelled by the CAA on 27 June 2018 as "de-registered"

1. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tewkesbury-plane-crash-latest-updates-victims-injuries-ambulance-gloucestershire-overbury-field-a8147941.html
2. https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/two-dead-fatal-plane-crash-1027480
3. https://www.westmercia.police.uk/article/42551/Light-aircraft-crash---Overbury-Tewkesbury-updated
4. https://wmas.nhs.uk/2018/01/08/light-aircraft-crash-in-worcestershire-update/
5. http://www.redditchadvertiser.co.uk/news/national/15814238.Paramedics_at_scene_of_light_aircraft_crash_in_Worcestershire/
6. http://www.aeros.co.uk/the-aeros-group/#fleet
7. https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/gallery/scene-crash-site-overbury-1031352
8. https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/gallery/air-accident-investigation-branch-scene-1032638
9. https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/shock-sadness-over-death-very-1067991

Met Office Synoptic Chart

Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee crashes, Bredon Hill. Air Accident Investigation Branch at the scene of the fatal air crash on the Overbury Estate, UKhttps://t.co/UmIsH1R2Td pic.twitter.com/UrU8OfhdTu

— Planes Of Legend (@PlanesOfLegend) 9 janvier 2018

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
08-Jan-2018 15:24	Aerossurance	Added
08-Jan-2018 15:24	Aerossurance	Updated [Embed code, ]
08-Jan-2018 15:27	Aerossurance	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Nature, Embed code, Damage, Narrative, ]
08-Jan-2018 17:44	Geno	Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ]
08-Jan-2018 17:52	gerard57	Updated [Operator, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
08-Jan-2018 19:55	Aerossurance	Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
08-Jan-2018 20:03	Captain Adam	Updated [Operator, ]
08-Jan-2018 21:57	Aerossurance	Updated [Phase, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
09-Jan-2018 12:14	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
09-Jan-2018 12:15	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Embed code, Narrative, ]
09-Jan-2018 13:35	sharla82	Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Source, Embed code, ]
09-Jan-2018 13:36	harro	Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, ]
09-Jan-2018 17:52	Captain Adam	Updated [Source, ]
09-Jan-2018 17:52	harro	Updated [Aircraft type, ]
09-Jan-2018 18:08	Iceman 29	Updated [Embed code, ]
10-Jan-2018 07:32	RobertMB	Updated [Cn, Embed code, ]
10-Jan-2018 08:11	CKasmeridis	Updated [Photo, ]
10-Jan-2018 08:12	CKasmeridis	Updated [Narrative, ]
10-Jan-2018 09:43	Aerossurance	Updated [Narrative, ]
11-Jan-2018 10:42	CKasmeridis	Updated [Narrative, ]
14-Jan-2018 09:17	Anon.	Updated [Departure airport, ]
15-Jan-2018 19:18	Iceman 29	Updated [Nature, Source, Narrative, ]
06-Dec-2018 17:07	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Time, Departure airport, Embed code, Narrative, ]
06-Dec-2018 17:07	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Embed code, Narrative, ]
06-Dec-2018 19:33	harro	Updated [Source, Accident report, ]
06-Dec-2018 19:34	harro	Updated [Embed code, ]