F172N down outside of Rotterdam 2018_05_22
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F172N down outside of Rotterdam 2018_05_22
https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/0...-zuid-holland/
A typically insightful "witness" statement.
Two people were killed when a light aircraft crashed 15 minutes after taking off from Rotterdam The Hague airport on Tuesday morning. It is thought the two unidentified occupants of the plane are the only victims. According to witnesses, the plane, a Cessna Reims F172N Skyhawk, was flying low and hit a tree before crashing in a field near Bergambacht. It is not known what caused the accident but according to witnesses the area is used for what they describe as ‘test flights’.
‘They kill the engine, float and turn it on again. It’s a bit scary when I’m in the field with my ponies. It’s an accident waiting to happen,’ one witness told the AD. The aircraft in question was involved in an earlier crash in 2012 in which no one was hurt. Rotterdam-based Sand Air, which owns the plane, declined to comment. Sand Air has been offering tours, flying lessons and helicopter flights from Rotterdam The Hague and Zeeland airports for 25 years, the paper said.
‘They kill the engine, float and turn it on again. It’s a bit scary when I’m in the field with my ponies. It’s an accident waiting to happen,’ one witness told the AD. The aircraft in question was involved in an earlier crash in 2012 in which no one was hurt. Rotterdam-based Sand Air, which owns the plane, declined to comment. Sand Air has been offering tours, flying lessons and helicopter flights from Rotterdam The Hague and Zeeland airports for 25 years, the paper said.
The area where the aircraft came down is designated as a low flying area, which can be used for practicing forced landings under the supervision of an instructor. It allows you to descend to 100' AGL, but not above rivers, canals or roads, and not in the vicinity of people or livestock.
