C210 crash at Wlotzka Baken, Namibia
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This article is from a Namibian newspaper. Looks like just the pilot on board. Pilot's name confirmed and his next of kin informed.
"Sefofane Air this afternoon around two o'clock died when his Cessna 210 (registrasiemerke V5 BAT) approximately 20 km east of Wlotzkasbaken in the harsh Namib Desert between Swakopmund and Hentiesbaai cases."
RIP
"Sefofane Air this afternoon around two o'clock died when his Cessna 210 (registrasiemerke V5 BAT) approximately 20 km east of Wlotzkasbaken in the harsh Namib Desert between Swakopmund and Hentiesbaai cases."
RIP
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Very sad and strange story. There is a longer article in today's Republikein (only understand parts of it, my Afrikaans isn't too great) and another one in the Namibian (in English).
Both imply that the a/c suffered a mid-air breakup / structural failure. Pretty rare....
Both imply that the a/c suffered a mid-air breakup / structural failure. Pretty rare....
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By reading all the relevant namibian newspapers this morning Republikein Tuisblad, the Namibian: Top Stories, Allgemeine Zeitung Namibia - Nachrichten mit Charakter it is my humble opinion that the pilot did some aerobatics with that C210. I am not an aeronautical engineer, so I might be wrong.
Mysteriöser Absturz
Mysteriöser Absturz
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Very strange indeed. In the pics it looks as if the wing spar was intact (I am, however, not an aircraft mechanic, I only fly the things), so at least going on what we see here it doesn't look like a spar failure. Also, a pilot flying just a few minutes behind the accident a/c mentions 'light winds' and nothing about severe turbulence. Without wanting to jump to conclusions, Voel may be on to something 
Btw, Voel, how's the sandpit going?
Btw, Voel, how's the sandpit going?
Es wird Sommer. But nothing is as good as home
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I'm a Pilot myself round here, saw the wreck site, its quite bad.
Accident cause Seems like an Overstressed wing spar, it shows some compelling evidence of aerobatic flying. I have to agree with Voel, the pilot did something with his C210 that wasn't normal. He was very young (25 Years), dont know about his experience or if he took the normal path of obtaining his License. But that plane wasn't rated for 6G and was already rather old. The pilot married just a short while ago, sad story.
Accident cause Seems like an Overstressed wing spar, it shows some compelling evidence of aerobatic flying. I have to agree with Voel, the pilot did something with his C210 that wasn't normal. He was very young (25 Years), dont know about his experience or if he took the normal path of obtaining his License. But that plane wasn't rated for 6G and was already rather old. The pilot married just a short while ago, sad story.
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ACE, your comment re the spar is interesting. I haven't been there and can only go by the pics, and there there spar looks intact. Looks almost like the wing/roof assembly had been torn off. Loop with over-enthusiastic recovery?
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Firstly the story of baggage coming out of the plane and causing it to crash is bull**it!
The aircraft had no passengers on board!
In my humble opinion the pilot wanted to have a bit of fun (since he had just gone online) and probably tried some aerobatic maneuver
A C210 can do a barrel roll, if flown correctly at positive G, but an ordinary pilot with no aerobatic training is asking for trouble if he attempts such a maneuver
.
Anyway, all speculation. The investigation will hopefully find the cause of this tragedy!
The aircraft had no passengers on board!
In my humble opinion the pilot wanted to have a bit of fun (since he had just gone online) and probably tried some aerobatic maneuver
A C210 can do a barrel roll, if flown correctly at positive G, but an ordinary pilot with no aerobatic training is asking for trouble if he attempts such a maneuver
.Anyway, all speculation. The investigation will hopefully find the cause of this tragedy!
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FFS aerobatics in a 210 is playing Russian roulette. They are a very capable aircraft for what they were designed to do but they also have a dark side to their handling.
They have a low Va speed (can't remember it off hand at present) in comparison to its normal cruise TAS. This should be the first indication that they can be fragile without struts.
They also have a laminar flow wing which does not like having sudden angle of attack changes imposed on it. I have had a friend killed flying one because he didn't respect that and he stalled it off a climbing turn. 
If you haven't the self-discipline to fly one according to the book then you deserve everything that is going to happen.
They have a low Va speed (can't remember it off hand at present) in comparison to its normal cruise TAS. This should be the first indication that they can be fragile without struts.
They also have a laminar flow wing which does not like having sudden angle of attack changes imposed on it. I have had a friend killed flying one because he didn't respect that and he stalled it off a climbing turn. If you haven't the self-discipline to fly one according to the book then you deserve everything that is going to happen.
