Accident Jabiru J430 ZU-URI, Sunday 10 March 2024

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Date:	Sunday 10 March 2024
Time:	10:31
Type:	Jabiru J430
Owner/operator:
Registration:	ZU-URI
MSN:	995
Total airframe hrs:	57 hours
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Elandsbaai Nature Reserve, Western Cape Province - South Africa
Phase:	Unknown
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Springbok Airport (SBU/FASB)
Destination airport:	Morning Star Aerodrome
Investigating agency:	CAA S.A.
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
On Sunday morning, 10 March 2024, a pilot and a passenger on-board a Jabiru J430 aircraft with
registration ZU-URI took off on a private flight from Springbok Aerodrome (FASB) in the Northern
Cape province to Morning Star Aerodrome in the Western Cape province. The flight was conducted
under visual meteorological conditions (VMC) by day and under the provisions of Part 94 of the Civil
Aviation Regulations (CAR) 2011 as amended.

The pilot stated that the aircraft had 5 hours fuel endurance. They flew for 2 hours and 40 minutes
and landed at Lamberts Bay, Western Cape province, to take a break. At 0810Z, they took off from
Lamberts Bay to Morningstar Aerodrome. Whilst flying above the restricted airspace near Air Force
Base Langebaanweg (must be below 1500 feet above ground level [AGL] in that area), the pilot used
the carburetor heat several times to prevent icing and, therefore, did not notice when the engine ran
rough and as it lost power. When he became aware of engine power loss, he stated that he switched
on the fuel pump and turned the magneto switches on and off but could not regain engine power. He
then selected an open field on a farm near Elands Bay in the West Coast to perform a precautionary
landing. The area he selected was covered in dense vegetation (Figure 1). During landing, the
aircraft sustained substantial damage to the landing gear and propellers. The pilot and the passenger

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were not harmed. The aircraft maintenance organisation (AMO) that recovered the aircraft drained
30 litres of fuel from the fuel tanks.

After the accident, the AMO placed the engine on a test bench, and it started and achieved all the
power settings without complications.

Probable Cause(s)
The engine carburetor experienced moderate icing before it lost power and failed. Attempts to restore power resulted in an unsuccessful precautionary landing and damage to the aircraft.

Contributing Factor(s) Poor or no flight planning; the icing probability was not calculated to determine if precautionary measures should be taken.

Accident investigation: