Another accid report released 3 years after the accident happended
Report out on plane crash that killed two
By: WERNER MENGES
A PILOT error, resulting in a controlled flight into the ground, has been identified as the most probable cause of an aeroplane crash in which two Antipodean pilots were killed during an aerial geophysical survey southwest of Windhoek in October 2005.
Australian pilot Ian Payne and a fellow pilot from New Zealand, Dougal Williamson, were the only people on board a Cessna 210 aircraft that was being used to conduct a low-level aerial geological survey for the Ministry of Mines and Energy when the aircraft crashed at farm Göllschau some 80 kilometres southwest of Windhoek on October 20 2005.
The two pilots, who were both 38 years old, were killed in the crash. The aircraft was completely destroyed by fire when it burst into flames after the crash.
The report on the official investigation of the incident by the Ministry of Works and Transport’s Directorate of Aircraft Accident Investigations has now been released.
In the report, aircraft accident investigator Titus Shuungula concluded that no evidence that the weather or mechanical problems had played a role in the crash.
He concluded: “The most probable cause of this accident could be attributed to Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT).”
The last flight of the aircraft, which carried the registration number V5-AAG, started when it took off from Eros Airport in Windhoek shortly after 06h00 on October 20 2005.
The aircraft, which had been modified for geological survey work in 2002, had undergone a routine mandatory inspection only a day before it crashed, it is stated in the accident investigation report.
The aeroplane crashed about 30 minutes after the take-off from Eros Airport.
With the investigation of the crash it was established that after the plane had first struck the ground, it skipped over rock outcrops and uneven terrain for 97 metres before the nose section struck a rise of about 1,5 metres, which swung the aircraft around. Coming to a rest, the plane burst into flames.
The two pilots were still inside the aircraft.
To be effective in geophysical recording, the aircraft had to stay 80 metres above ground and not higher, and that requires “absolute maximum efficiency” in the handling of the plane, it is stated in the accident report.
The aircraft was not fitted with a ground proximity warning system, but this was not required by regulation either, it is stated.
With an investigation of the plane’s engine not having produced any indications that the crash had been the result of an engine failure, it was concluded that a controlled flight into the ground was the most probable cause of the crash.
“It appears that the pilot in command manoeuvred the aircraft into very close proximity to rising terrain with insufficient time available to make the necessary flight path corrections,” the accident report reads.
The cause of the crash could only be partly explained, though, the report indicates. It is stated in the report: “It was not determined why the pilot lost control of the aircraft and let the aircraft collide with the terrain.”
The report concluded: “It is strongly recommended that during survey flights considerable time should be devoted in looking inside the aircraft cockpit in order to maintain lateral and vertical navigation. Hazardous states of inattention, distraction, preoccupation or absorption can easily cause a pilot to lose situational awareness.” Pilots should be reminded of this, it was recommended.
According to the report, Payne and Williamson were both experienced pilots. Payne, who had some 10 158 hours of flying experience, obtained his first pilot licence in 1984, more than 21 years before the crash that ended his life. He obtained a commercial pilot licence in 1987.
Williamson had some 3 905 hours of flying experience. He obtained a commercial pilot licence in late 2000.