Originally Posted by
Tashengurt
I think that aircraft had been parked up for quite some time at Newcastle. I would see it quite often on the pan. I wondered then if it was abandoned.
That picture was taken November 2015 at Newcastle Airport. Paint showing signs of distress.
Another picture here from July 2016 showing the paint suffering from being parked up.
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I suspect that a long period parked outside with the oil draining down from vital parts is not good. If the owner then just fires up and embarks on a long trip that must have taken its toll on the engine.
If the paint lacquer was breaking up what was happening inside to the mechanical parts?
I know from my own log books that I have often flown some very long sectors followed by periods where the aircraft has sat on the ground for a month or even longer. This is typical of an owner who uses the aircraft to travel long distances before parking up.
In contrast flying clubs seem to run their aircraft up to life with no problems.
In this accident it appears from reports that the engine suffered some sort of catastrophic failure.
The pictures clearly show the gear was not lowered. Sad to say if he had cleared that bund or bank the outcome might well have been different. The T tail won't have helped.
I see no marks in the grass behind so wonder if he stalled in?
At 11.00 am on the day the local weather was thundery squalls with a low cloud base. The aircraft had flown from Menorca with a destination of Newcastle.
The paint in the picture below appears to reflect corrosion from being parked outside? I wonder what the AAIB investigation will reveal on the cause of the engine failure?
