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| Date: | Monday 23 December 2024 |
| Time: | c. 11:35 LT |
| Type: |  Rockwell 112TC-A Alpine Commander |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N4698W |
| MSN: | 13274 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1978 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Kinglassie, Fife -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Fife Airport (EGPJ) |
| Fife Airport (EGPJ) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A Rockwell 112TC-A Alpine Commander (N4698W) crashed shortly after takeoff from Fife Airport (EGPJ) in a field near Kinglassie, Fife. The sole pilot perished and the aircraft was written off. An AAIB team has been dispatched.
UPDATE:
The AAIB Issued an interim report on 10 March 2025, and the following is an excerpt from the report
"Following a normal takeoff roll, on the initial climb-out the aircraft’s engine lost power due to water ingestion in the carburettor. The aircraft was observed to depart from controlled flight and it struck an area of rising ground, fatally injuring the pilot. Investigation of the aircraft’s fuel system revealed significant water contamination that had not been removed during the pre-flight inspection.
This Special Bulletin contains preliminary information on the accident and highlights that it is possible that an entire fuel sample tube of water, drained from the fuel system, can still produce an odour of AVGAS when smelled
History of the flight
N4698W was based at Fife Airport, near Glenrothes, and was owned by the pilot. On the day of the accident, CCTV footage showed the pilot arriving at the airport at 1100 hrs and walking to N4698W, parked at the south-western end of the apron. The view of N4698W on the CCTV was obscured by parked aircraft, so it was not possible to clearly observe the pre-flight actions of the pilot. A witness reported that the aircraft’s engine was running whilst parked on the apron for approximately 20 minutes before CCTV recorded it taxiing at 11:28 hrs.
On seeing N4698W taxiing, a witness in another aircraft called on the radio to check the pilot’s intentions. The pilot told him that he intended to depart the circuit for a brief local flight before returning. N4698W was then seen entering the runway, backtracking to the threshold of Runway 24, and stopping. The witness recalled the engine running at high power for about 20 seconds before the takeoff run, which began at 11:33.18 hrs.
CCTV recorded N4698W climbing out to the south-west until 11:34.20 hrs, when it appeared to depart abruptly from controlled flight, possibly entering an incipient spin. At approximately the same time, CCTV in the village of Kinglassie, one mile south-west, recorded the sound of an engine misfiring, followed by images of N4698W striking rising ground nearby. The witness at the airport reported hearing a brief MAYDAY call from the pilot.
Airport responders arrived quickly at the scene and found local residents already present.
They secured the aircraft by turning off the ignition and fuel. Police arrived on scene at 11:55 hrs. The pilot was fatally injured in the impact.
Accident site
N4698W struck an area of rising ground to the north of Kinglassie, with low forward speed and a high rate of descent. The left wing was more damaged than the right wing, indicating that the aircraft was in a shallow left roll attitude at impact. The landing gear was in the up position. The propeller was in fine pitch and had stopped with one blade folded rearwards, beneath the nose, with the other two blades intact without any impact marks, consistent with the propeller windmilling whilst not being driven under power by the engine at impact. No fire had occurred. It was not possible to reliably determine the pre-accident positions of the
magneto switch and fuel selector valve.
The left-wing fuel tank was ruptured and no fuel remained within the tank. Approximately 20 litres of fuel was recovered from the right wing.
Damage Sustained to airframe:
Per the AAIB Interim Report "Aircraft Destroyed"
Sources:
1. AAIB Interim Report 10 March 2025: https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aaib-special-bulletin-s1-slash-2025-rockwell-commander-112-tca-n4698w
2. https://www.centralfifetimes.com/news/24814893.kinglassie-plane-crash-man-dies-light-aircraft-incident/
3. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgq1zdj858qo
4. https://news.stv.tv/north/light-aircraft-crashes-near-fife-airport-with-emergency-services-on-scene
5. https://hellorayo.co.uk/tay/local/news/light-aircraft-crash-in-fife/
6. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-aaib-has-sent-a-team-to-an-accident-near-fife-airport
7. https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=4698W
8. https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a5be8f
9. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n4698w#3874bac4~
10. https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N4698W/history/20241223/1138Z/EGPJ/EGPJ
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fife_Airport
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinglassie
Location
Media:
Emergency services are on the scene of a light aircraft crash in Fife.https://t.co/4zfxkZljRq pic.twitter.com/8BaVG1eghL
— STV News (@STVNews) December 23, 2024
Light aircraft crash in Fifehttps://t.co/0FAfrGPoYR
— Radio Tay News (@RadioTayNews) December 23, 2024
A Special Bulletin has been published concerning engine power loss due to significant water contamination of the aircraft’s fuel system, Rockwell Commander 112 TCA (N4698W), Kinglassie, Fife on 23 December 2024https://t.co/OxXrlVXMDA #AviationSafety #AviationFuel
— AAIB (@aaibgovuk) March 10, 2025
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Dec-2024 14:21 | gerard57 | Added |
| 23-Dec-2024 15:15 | ASN | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, ] |
| 23-Dec-2024 15:16 | ASN | Updated [Category, ] |
| 23-Dec-2024 15:27 | Aerossurance | Updated [Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 23-Dec-2024 15:28 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code, ] |
| 23-Dec-2024 15:29 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code, ] |
| 23-Dec-2024 15:34 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code, ] |
| 23-Dec-2024 15:54 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 23-Dec-2024 16:11 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 10-Mar-2025 19:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 25-Jul-2025 12:01 | rvargast17 | Updated [Embed code, Damage, ] |
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