Date:	Tuesday 27 August 2024
Time:	10:32 LT
Type:	Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:	G-CUBX
MSN:	18-8109006
Year of manufacture:	1981
Engine model:	Lycoming O-320-A2B
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Defford Croft Farm Airfield, Woodmancote, Defford, Worcestershire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Defford Croft Farm Airfield, Woodmancote, Defford, Worcestershire
Destination airport:
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A PA-18-150 Super Cub crashed on takeoff from Defford Croft Farm Airfield, Woodmancote, Defford, Worcestershire and caught fire. The pilot perished and the aircraft was written off.

The accident occurred on the pilot’s second flight in G-CUBX. The first time he flew the aircraft he occupied the rear seat with an instructor in the front. On the accident flight he flew solo from the front seat.
After initially having trouble starting the engine, he taxied out for departure from Runway 28. As the aircraft
entered the runway to backtrack, its wing flaps were in the retracted position.
While at low speed during the initial phase of the takeoff roll, the aircraft swung to the left before being re-aligned to the runway by the pilot.
Within two seconds of getting airborne it was in a left turn tracking toward obstacles south of the runway. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft adopt a steep nose-up attitude, but it was not able to climb above a tree which was one of the obstacles in its path. G-CUBX appeared to have struck the tree at the apogee of its flight path before descending steeply, nose-first, into the ground. The pilot suffered fatal injuries at the point of ground collision.

It was not possible to conclusively establish why the aircraft diverged left during and after takeoff. Nonetheless, the investigation considered it likely the relatively low lift off speed of approximately 34 kt contributed to the pilot having insufficient aerodynamic control authority to effectively counter the flight path divergence. Being in a turn rather than wings level would have compromised the aircraft’s climb rate resulting in it being unable to climb above the obstacles it was turning toward.

The investigation was unable to find evidence of any pre-accident fault with the aircraft.

Nearest weather (21 km S of accident location):
METAR EGBJ 270920Z 18007KT 9999 FEW012 18/15 Q1016
METAR EGBJ 270950Z 18008KT 9999 FEW014 18/15 Q1016
METAR EGBJ 271020Z 18008KT 9999 FEW020 19/15 Q1016

1. https://metro.co.uk/2024/08/27/pilot-dies-plane-crashes-difficult-takeoff-21497928/
2. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce81e9gy08yo
3. https://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=134969
4. https://www.croftfarmairfield.co.uk

Photo: AAIB U.K.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Aug-2024 15:03	Captain Adam	Added
27-Aug-2024 15:35	RobertMB	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
27-Aug-2024 16:25	Aerossurance	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Source, ]
27-Aug-2024 18:56	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ]
27-Aug-2024 18:57	ASN	Updated [Embed code, Narrative, ]
28-Aug-2024 07:09	Anon.	Updated [Aircraft type, ]
28-Aug-2024 07:57	RobertMB	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Source, Narrative, ]
28-Aug-2024 09:52	ASN	Updated [Aircraft type, ]
28-Aug-2024 10:11	RobertMB	Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative, ]
08-Sep-2024 16:56	Ian	Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Country, Source, Narrative, ]
08-Sep-2024 16:56	ASN	Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Narrative, ]
08-Sep-2024 16:56	ASN	Updated [Country, ]
29-May-2025 13:36	ASN	Updated [Time, Cn, Embed code, Damage, Narrative, Accident report, ]
29-May-2025 13:47	ASN	Updated [Source, Photo, ]
29-May-2025 13:50	ASN	Updated [Photo, ]