ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 277025
This record has been locked for editing.
| Date: | Saturday 2 April 2022 |
| Time: | 11:58 LT |
| Type: |  Extra NG |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | G-MIIL |
| MSN: | NG028 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2021 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming AEIO-580-B1A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Camp Road, Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Bicester Airfield (EGDD) |
| Bicester Airfield (EGDD) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
An Extra NG aerobatics plane (G-MIIL) crashed on 2 April 2022 at 11:58 local time into an unoccupied block of flats near Camp Road, Upper Heyford following the loss of the canopy. The pilot parachuted from the aircraft and was injured.
The pilot took off from Bicester Airfield (EGDD) for a local flight to conduct aerobatics.
Having completed the aerobatics, the pilot commenced his flight back towards Bicester at a height of about 2,200 ft amsl. The pilot described that a few minutes later, and with the aircraft flying straight and leve at 184 kts, the canopy suddenly “exploded” around him. He lost his glasses and experienced severe wind blast to his face, the combination of which left him unable to see properly. He also lost his headset. He managed to maintain control of the aircraft and continued flying for just over 20 seconds, trying to understand what had happened and what his options were.
The pilot only had sufficient vision to make out the shape of the instrument panel in front of him. Realising he was unable to see sufficiently to be able to either continue flying back to the airfield or land safely he decided he had no option but to bail out of the aircraft. He undid his harness and stood up, the wind pulling him out of the aircraft. The aircraft then banked to the left and descended to the ground, colliding with a newly constructed, but unoccupied, three-storey block of flats. No one on the ground was injured.
AAIB Conclusion
It is considered the canopy of the aircraft suffered a catastrophic failure in flight due to fatigue cracking of the acrylic transparency. The cracking was initiated by differential forces acting on the canopy frame, induced by inadequate bonding between the inner and outer frame.
This, in turn, caused localised stresses being imparted into the transparency, presenting conditions which promoted fatigue crack development. This resulted in a catastrophic failure of the canopy when cracks reached a critical length.
The pilot was not wearing a helmet or a visor and received serious facial injuries. He was unable to continue flying the aircraft in order to land and it was only due to the fact he was wearing a parachute that he was able to bail out and survive. It was only chance that the abandoned aircraft did not injure anyone when it hit the ground in a built-up area.
BFU Comments
The German BFU, representing the state of design and manufacture, did not agree with the AAIB analysis resulting in a scenario of a canopy failure in flight, due to fatigue cracking of the acrylic transparency. This scenario can be ruled out since it does not explain how the locking mechanism opened and released the remaining parts of the canopy frame. It is incomprehensible how the continuing air flow loads on the pieces of the broken canopy frame attached to that section wrenched the shoot bolts out of their roller lugs as it is described in the analysis. Any airflow during forward flight will create strong forces directed to the aft, which will force the locking mechanism into the locked position and not open it.
Taking all facts into account, especially the undamaged shoot bolts and lugs, it is most probable that the canopy was not completely locked prior to the flight and the locking mechanism opened completely at some point, due to air loads and vibration. Even if one would expect that such an event would more likely occur during aerobatic flight, it is anything but unlikely during level flight.
Service Bulletin
As a result of examination of the remains of the canopy from G-MIIL, the manufacturer introduced SB NG-2-22 in December 2022. This was non-mandatory and applied to Extra NG aircraft, Serial Numbers NG001 to NG038.
The SB stated that its purpose was: ‘An improvement of the bonding between the inner and outer canopy frame
shall be introduced. Although there is currently no reason to assume that the canopy of the aircraft requires any technical modifications, as a mere precautionary measure the carbon fibre canopy frame shall be further improved
and strengthened by reworking of the adhesive glue bonding between the inner and outer canopy frame’.
The SB required the injection of bonding foam into the void between the inner and outer canopy frame at the front of the canopy from the front hinge on the right side around to the front shoot bolt on the left side of the canopy.
The AAIB recommended EASA to assess the effectiveness of SB-NG-2-22 in rectifying inadequate bonding.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. https://www.oxfordshirelive.co.uk/news/oxfordshire-news/plane-crashes-bicester-pilot-hospital-6898021
2. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/GMIIL/history/20220402/1037Z
3. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/g-miil#2b5b470c
4. https://news.sky.com/story/oxfordshire-plane-crashes-into-block-of-flats-in-upper-heyford-injuring-pilot-12580777
5. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-60967351
6. https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/20040617.pilot-injured-plane-crashes-flats-upper-heyford/
Location
Images:
Photo: AAIB
Media:
Footage from the scene of a small plane crash in Upper Heyford earlier.
— JACK News (@jackfmnews) April 2, 2022
A nearby resident told @JACKfmOxford she saw the pilot ‘jump’ from the aircraft with a parachute, moments before it hit the building.@ThamesVP said the pilot has several injuries but nobody else was hurt. pic.twitter.com/izJW2paUpC
Plane crash #planecrash #oxfordshire #heyford pic.twitter.com/lo4hbluq3V
— Tony Whiting (@tonywhiting999) April 2, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Apr-2022 13:25 | gerard57 | Added |
| 02-Apr-2022 13:52 | harro | Updated [Location, Phase, Nature, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 02-Apr-2022 13:53 | harro | Updated [Embed code] |
| 02-Apr-2022 14:19 | gerard57 | Updated [Time, Embed code] |
| 02-Apr-2022 14:46 | harro | Updated [Registration, Source, Embed code] |
| 02-Apr-2022 14:53 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category] |
| 02-Apr-2022 15:01 | harro | Updated [Time, Nature, Narrative] |
| 02-Apr-2022 17:49 | harro | Updated [Narrative] |
| 02-Apr-2022 20:40 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source] |
| 02-Apr-2022 21:01 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 03-Apr-2022 05:51 | Anon. | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 03-Apr-2022 16:09 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 29-May-2022 18:23 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 02-Oct-2022 20:24 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Feb-2024 13:13 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Category, Accident report, Photo] |
| 22-Feb-2024 13:18 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Accident report] |
| 22-Feb-2024 13:35 | ASN | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
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