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| Date: | Friday 10 November 2023 |
| Time: | c. 11:05 LT |
| Type: | BRM Citius Sport |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | 871W |
| MSN: | 0242/K2/15CT |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near the Montargil Dam, Portalegre -
 Portugal
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Monte do Lago, Montargil |
| Guadalupe (Cáceres) LEGU | |
| Investigating agency: | GPIAAF |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The BRM Citius Sport ultralight crashed near the Montargil Dam, shortly after takeoff from Ponte de Sor Airport (LPSO), Portalegre, Portugal.
The aircraft had been recently acquired and the pilot had limited experience in it. He was ferrying the aircraft to Belgium on the accident day.
Probable Cause:
Analysis of aircraft and engine systems, the data retrieved from the engine recording system and the evidence collected in the course of the investigation, the most likely cause of the accident was the loss of control of the aircraft following the partial loss of engine power during take-off, as a result of the restriction of the fuel supply to the carburettors due to the installation of a fuel pressure regulator.
Contributing factors
• The lack of proper functional systems and flight tests which allowed several technical discrepancies arising from the process of amateur aircraft construction to go undetected or unaddressed, which later manifested themselves in the operation of the aircraft, namely the contribution of the electric auxiliary pump to ensure the engine fuel supply system.
• Limitations in the pilot's training and flight experience in preparing, planning aexecuting a complex mission in an amateur-built aircraft, in which he had never flown alone.
• Deficiencies in the pre-purchase inspection process, without a detailed knowledge of the aircraft systems, their construction, limitations and ensuring that the necessary technical condition were met for a safe flight.
• An absence of mass and balance calculations, with the pilot deciding to fly the aircraft above its MTOW and at its control limit on the lateral axis (pitch) due to a condition of overload of the aircraft at the aft limit of the C.G.
• Lack of knowledge on the part of the pilot of the aircraft's operational and emergency procedures, which in turn were not part of the flight manual of the approved model.
• Current framework of European unregulated, non-type certified, manned aviation activity that allows significant asymmetries in the validation process of technical requirements between the various States, far from a
standardization of criteria that allows an operation with known risks among its practitioners.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://www.gpiaa.gov.pt/
https://planecheck.com/?ent=da&id=56047&cor=y
https://planecheck.com/imgshow.asp?n=56047/img013256151591 (photo)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Nov-2023 14:55 | gerard57 | Added |
| 10-Nov-2023 19:54 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 17-Nov-2023 20:25 | Captain Adam | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 23-Nov-2023 12:05 | Anon. | Updated [Total occupants, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 15-Nov-2024 17:06 | ASN | Updated [Cn, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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