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| Date: | Saturday 25 July 2020 |
| Time: | 12:19 |
| Type: |  Cessna 172R Skyhawk |
| Owner/operator: | Fluggruppe Reichenbach |
| Registration: | HB-TLF |
| MSN: | 17281391 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2007 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Blatten,VS -
 Switzerland
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Reichenbach Airfield (LSGR) |
| Reichenbach Airfield (LSGR) | |
| Investigating agency: | STSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft crashed into the Gletscherspitze mountain area near Blatten, Vallais, Switzerland. The airplane was destroyed by the post crash fire and the four people onboard were fatally injured.
The pilot took off from Reichenbach Airfield at 11:15 for an Alpine scenic flight. After takeoff, the aircraft required approximately 28 minutes to reach 10,000 ft AMSL at an average climb rate of about 290 ft/min.
During the last 35 minutes before the accident, the aircraft was at a pressure altitude between 10,000 ft and 13,000 ft.
At an altitude of 12,730 ft AMSL, the aircraft unexpectedly entered a stall with subsequent flat spin, which the pilot was unable to recover from.
The aircraft crashed at 12:19, hitting a rocky ridge below the glacier peak in the municipality of Blatten (VS) flat on its underside and caught fire.
Probable Cause:
The accident, in which the airplane collided with the ground after losing control, is attributed to the airplane unexpectedly entering a flat spin following a stall at its performance limits, which the pilot was unable to recover from. The following factors contributed to the accident:
- The high mass and the rearward center of gravity of the airplane;
- The pilot was unfamiliar with the procedure for recovering from a spin.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.polizei-schweiz.ch/loetschental-blatten-vs-vier-todesopfer-bei-absturz-eines-kleinflugzeugs/
https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/kleinflugzeug-stuerzt-im-wallis-ab-491332151031
https://t.co/Cvx0ig20r7?amp=1
https://twitter.com/radiorottu/status/1286988763164540928/photo/1
https://cdn.planespotters.net/18367/hb-tlf-fluggruppe-reichenbach-cessna-172r-skyhawk_PlanespottersNet_787013_6ab12a28b0_o.jpg (photo)
Location
Media:
Unter dem Breithorn im #Lötschental ist heute Mittag ein Kleinflugzeug abgestürzt. Weitere Details sind noch nicht bekannt. #rro informiert laufend. pic.twitter.com/j1RIbxQHtB
— rro - radio rottu oberwallis (@radiorottu) July 25, 2020
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Jul-2020 18:52 | hew | Added |
| 25-Jul-2020 19:02 | harro | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 25-Jul-2020 19:07 | Anon. | Updated [Registration, Source, ] |
| 25-Jul-2020 19:08 | harro | Updated [Cn, Operator, Embed code, ] |
| 25-Jul-2020 19:09 | harro | Updated [Date, Embed code, ] |
| 25-Jul-2020 21:47 | RobertMB | Updated [Cn, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 26-Jul-2020 09:37 | Captain Adam | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 23-Dec-2024 11:01 | ASN | Updated [Time, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ] |
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