PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Aircraft down in Channel
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Old 22nd Jul 2013, 12:46
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smartbrit
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
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The photos have been posted elsewhere and there is much debate going on in the COPA forums so I might as well add what I know.

The aircraft was N147KA, a 2006 SR22 GTS formerly operated by Free Flight Aviation but recently purchased by former members of that group.

The photos of the wreckage show the CAPS tether deployment tracks although it is possible for the CAPS to fire on impact so it is not clear if CAPS was deployed at altitude, when too low to be effective, at too high an airspeed or by the impact.

I believe the aircraft went down before mid-day based on EGLK pilot reports of when the aircraft departed the circuit so the conditions in the channel would likely have been worse than reported in this thread but I understand that cloud tops were around 3000 msl most of the morning so the aircraft could have been in the clear on top.

I also believe the pilot was in contact with London but that no Mayday was transmitted hence the overdue action.

Given where the wreckage is, I doubt any recovery will be attempted so we will probably never know the cause.
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