AN aircraft crash which saw a plane suffer “extensive damage” and left a pensioner and woman injured was “likely" caused by the wing stalling, an investigation has found.
Emergency services were called to the incident in Andrewsfield, near Stebbing, last September following reports of a serious crash involving a light aircraft.
Upon arrival paramedics, firefighters, and police officers discovered the wreckage of a small plane which was upside-down, in which a man in his 80s was trapped and a woman in her 30s had been injured.
Following the joint efforts of the emergency services, including the Hazardous Area Response Team, the elderly man was soon freed from the aircraft.
The incident has since been investigated by the Air Accident Investigation Branch after an aircraft accident report form was submitted by the pilot.
The report, which was published earlier this week, says it happened during a private flight of a Sukhoi SU-29 on September 16 at 1.10pm.
It also noted the 81-year-old commander has a Private Private Pilot’s Licence and had 1,950 hours of flying experience prior to the crash.
On the incident, the report said: “The aircraft was making an approach to Runway 09 at Andrewsfield Aerodrome.
“The pilot sat in the rear seat and the passenger, who was a recently qualified pilot, sat in the front.
“Airfield CCTV showed as the aircraft approached the runway the left wing dropped.
“The wingtip struck the ground causing the aircraft to cartwheel and it came to rest inverted in a ploughed field to the side of the runway.
“The passenger was able to free herself from the aircraft but the pilot required assistance. Both escaped with only minor injuries.
“The pilot reported he did not know what happened and believed there was nothing wrong with the aircraft.
“He thought he must have let the airspeed reduce on short final.
“He reported he had been flying the aircraft for 15 years so could not understand why he would have allowed this to happen.
“The passenger reported the approach had seemed normal until the wing dropped.
“She recalled when the wing dropped the aircraft was so low it immediately flipped over.”
The investigation concluded it was “likely the airspeed reduced on short final causing the left wing to stall and the aircraft to roll to the left”.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here