Accident Slingsby T.67C Firefly G-FORS,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 89982
 
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Date:Wednesday 25 May 2005
Time:16:07 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic RF6 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Slingsby T.67C Firefly
Owner/operator:Open Skies Partnership
Registration: G-FORS
MSN: 2082
Year of manufacture:1990
Engine model:Lycoming O-320-D2A
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Category:Accident
Location:Potterspury, 6 miles NW of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire -   United Kingdom
Phase: En route
Nature:Training
Departure airport:Turweston, Buckinghamshire (EGBT)
Destination airport:
Investigating agency: AAIB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
Written off (destroyed) 25-05-2005 when failed to recover from a spin during aerobatics training and dived into the ground on the Wakefield Estate, Potterspury, neat Towcester, Northamptonshire, 6 miles North West of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. Both persons on board (pupil pilot and instructor) sustained fatal injuries. According to the following excerpt from the official AAIB report into the accident:

"An instructor and his student were conducting a training flight when the aircraft was seen to enter a spin. The aircraft was still in a spin when it impacted the ground. There was no evidence of a mechanical problem; however, it is possible that the engine might have stopped during the spin.

Whilst it was not possible to establish what the instructor planned to do on this flight, the investigation concluded that the aircraft probably entered an unintentional spin during an exercise involving oscillatory stalling. This particular exercise is not part of the UK Private Pilot’s Licence syllabus. As this exercise is considered inappropriate for ab initio flying training, a recommendation has been made to the CAA to ensure that flying instructors do not include oscillatory stalling during early flying training."

A contemporary press report (The Milton Keynes Citizen 31-05-2005, see link #6) named the two fatalities thus: "Rudi DeLavergne, aged 49 of Stock Lane, Whaddon, and Michael McKechnie, aged 43, of Passenham, both died of multiple injuries when the two-seater Slingsby Firefly they were in crashed at the Wakefield Estate at about 5.15pm."

Nature of Damage to airframe: Per the AAIB report "Aircraft destroyed". Aircraft presumably written off (damaged beyond repair) as the registration G-FORS was cancelled on 16.01.2006 as "Permanently withdrawn from use"

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: AAIB
Report number: EW/C2005/05/06
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f327ed915d1371000453/G-FORS_3-06.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=FORS
3. https://www.pprune.org/private-flying/176163-towcester-northants-incident-inquest-report-update.html
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/northamptonshire/4581851.stm
5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/northamptonshire/4580897.stm
6. https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/two-killed-in-tragedy-1-854630
7. https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/two-killed-in-plane-crash-1-854586
8. https://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/two-die-as-plane-crashes-in-field-1-1055881

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
09-Feb-2011 14:52 harro Added
22-Sep-2012 14:40 Dr. John Smith Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
04-Dec-2014 00:26 Dr. John Smith Updated [Aircraft type, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
30-Nov-2015 10:47 TB Updated [Aircraft type, Location]
11-Aug-2016 14:58 Dr.John Smith Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]

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