1. The aircraft involved was G-BPVJ. By a strange quirk of fate, it used to be owned by a pilot who is now the company's medical officer and who assisted in the operation to stabilise Dave's back injury.
2. Yes, spinning is a mandatory element of the BCPL syllabus. It is not a mandatory test item, it is simply at the examiner's discretion.
I have spoken to Dave today and told him of the concern amongst ppruners for his wellbeing and I am sure that he would love to hear from all of you.
as far as the cause of the accident is concerned, it would be wrong of me to discuss anything in this forum. It is however my own personal view that we will as an industry review some aspects of our training as a result of this accident. I know that we at Multiflight are currently in the process of instituting those changes as soon as possible.
Good luck and safe flying
Malcolm Dean
Head of Training
Multiflight