Thruxton PA28 CRASH LAST YEAR

[autothrottle]

Has anyone heard anything regarding the PA28 that crashed near Thruxton last year?The AAIB web site bulletins do not show anything.

[Cos]

I would be interested to hear about that too, having started my PPL training at Thruxton, with the club that owned the PA-28 in question.

All I heard about the crash was a father was taking his family and a young guest, for a cross-country trip. I think the a/c went down in the Oxford area. The reports form the ground were that the engine changed pitch wildly and the a/c was seen to climb and dive repeatedly. A witness saw the a/c disappear below the tree line. It then reappeared but a wing broke off soon after and the inevitable then happened.

Hopefully someone can add some information to what little I remember of the story.

[A and C]

I think that rather than start a new line in speculation we should wait for the AAIB report.

[The Nr Fairy]

at / Cos :

I was lucky enough to get a visit to the AAIB hangars last week as part of a helicopter safety seminar held at Farnborough.

I think the particular aircraft you mention was there - can't be sure as I didn't see a reg number or other identifying information - and the cause is still being investigated.

When the report is published, it will be in the form of a monthly bulletin, and will be found here (http://www.aaib.detr.gov.uk/bulletin/bulletin.htm).

Until then, I think the best course of action is patience - the AAIB are extremely good at working out what happened, it just takes time in some instances.

[pulse1]

Is it possible that the AAIB delay publication of their reports if there is likely to be legal action against the pilot? I have been waiting to see the report on a Malibu crash landing near my village. Local, informed gossip has it that this was due to running out of fuel so I would not have thought the investigation should take this long (well over a year).

[Genghis the Engineer]

Pulse - I don't think so, at least not directly.

The time to publish an AAIB report is inevitably proportional to the complexity and depth of the investigation. I worked with AAIB on one that took a couple of years, not for any legal reasons (although that was going on) but simply because of the sheer complexity of the investigation. Do bear in mind that AAIB is a very small organisation to do a very difficult job, and they always (in my opinion anyway) err on the side of slowness rather than shallowness.

G

[The Nr Fairy]

G :

Concur with the slowness v. shallowness thing.

As for not publishing reports for legal reasons, purely by way of example the report on the H269 crash in which three people were killed last year is effectively part of the evidence in an impending manslaughter prosecution, and therefore sub judice. I imagine it will be out in the next few months.

[ 26 November 2001: Message edited by: The Nr Fairy ]

[Flying Lawyer]

The AAIB Report into the Hughes269 crash has not been held back because of the pending prosecution.
The draft report will be sent to 'interested parties' for comments in the near future.
The AAIB considers any comments/proposals by interested parties and, if appropriate, takes them into account in the final report.

(BTW 'interested' doesn't mean 'curious'; it means means those involved in some way!)

On a general point. The role of the AAIB is often misunderstood. It is completely independent of the CAA, and has a totally different ethos. The AAIB tries to discover the cause of a crash, but doesn't try to apportion blame.
I've read numerous reports over the years, and met many investigators. I have great admiration and respect for the work they do.
I never fail to be impressed by their enormous skill, complete independence and total integrity.
The AAIB occasionally allows visits by organised groups. If anyone has the opportunity to visit, I highly recommend it.