ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228927
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| Date: | Wednesday 11 September 2019 |
| Time: | 16:00 LT |
| Type: |  Comco Ikarus C42C |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | 03AEN |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Itxassou Airfield (LFIX) -
 France
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Banner and glider towing |
| Departure airport: | Itxassou Airfield (LFIX) |
| Itxassou Airfield (LFIX) | |
| Investigating agency: | BEA |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A Comco Ikarus C42C (03AEN) was performing an aerotow flight with a Schleicher ASK 21 glider (F-CITS) from Itxassou Airfield, France.
During take-off, the trajectory of the towing aircraft gradually deviated to the left of the runway centreline in the direction of the wind and the effects of the engine torque. The instructor asked the student pilot to follow the tug, and the glider still on the ground laterally followed the path of the aircraft with a left yaw. While both aircraft were in the air and the glider was at a low height, the Ikarus attained an increasing nose-up attitude. The glider instructor resumed control and repeatedly instructed the tow pilot to stop pulling on the controls, with no response. The Ikarus ended up stalling on the left wing, then colliding with the ground. The instructor released the cable before the collision with the ground. Luckily, the student pilot and the glider instructor escaped the event unscathed.
The findings of the emergency services, the results of the autopsy and the pilot's history, as well as the lack of response to the radio, make it likely that the tow pilot could have been incapacitated during the flight. The pilot's advanced age and the nine flights made in the afternoon could have contributed to this incapacity.
After having suffered a coronary heart incident more than twenty years ago, the tow pilot adopted a healthy lifestyle allowing him since to comply with the requirements of class 2 medical regulations with an Operational Limitation with Safety Pilot (OSL) which required him, on board a certified aircraft, the presence of a second qualified pilot to compensate for a possible incapacity in flight.
His determination to fly, the service he rendered to the club and his aeronautical experience led him to be alone aboard an ultralight in compliance with the regulations, but against the meaning of the OSL limitation which he was also the object (single-pilot flight prohibited) and which he respected for his glider flights.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://actu.fr/nouvelle-aquitaine/itxassou_64279/itxassou-impressionnant-double-crash-davion-laerodrome_27166674.html
https://www.larepubliquedespyrenees.fr/2019/09/11/itxassou-un-ulm-remorquant-un-planeur-se-crashe-au-decollage,2600522.php
BEA ___________________
https://www.bea.aero/fr/les-enquetes/les-evenements-notifies/detail/event/accident-du-comco-ikarus-c42-identifie-03aen-et-du-schleicher-ask21-immatricule-f-cits-survenu-le-11/
Images:
Graphic: BEA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Sep-2019 21:06 | Iceman 29 | Added |
| 11-Sep-2019 21:15 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
| 11-Sep-2019 23:11 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport] |
| 12-Sep-2019 08:23 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Total fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Sep-2019 08:42 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Sep-2019 08:43 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Total fatalities] |
| 20-Sep-2019 20:10 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Registration, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 11-Sep-2021 10:20 | harro | Updated [Nature, Embed code, Narrative, Accident report] |
| 11-Sep-2021 11:01 | harro | Updated [Photo] |
| 11-Sep-2021 11:01 | harro | Updated [Embed code] |
| 15-Mar-2022 17:17 | harro | Updated [Accident report] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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