Light Aircraft Crash at Caenarfon

[Whirlybird]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/06/one-person-killed-in-plane-crash-at-caernarfon-airport

Does anyone know any details? I have friends at Caernarfon.

[CloudHound]

Caernarfon Airport plane crash: Pilot killed as light aircraft 'smashes into runway and explodes in massive fireball' (http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/caernarfon-airport-plane-crash-pilot-killed-as-light-aircraft-smashes-into-runway-and-explodes-in-massive-fireball/ar-AAroOBL?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=mailsignout)

Other sources, quoting eye witnesses, suggest it was a twin-engined plane.

Reported elsewhere it was a Piper PA-31 Navajo

[Jan Olieslagers]

PA31 Navajo, reg not yet mentioned.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=199471

[runway30]

It is being reported that the aircraft had departed a private strip in Cheshire and was en route to Dublin.

[Planemike]

PA31 Navajo, reg not yet mentioned.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=199471


Reported elsewhere as N250AC ex G-NWAC

[runway30]

Colour scheme is consistent with published photos of the wreckage.

Previous owner on the UK register is North West Air Charters Ltd. The reported pilot was a director of that company.

[Mike Flynn]

More info below. It appears to be either a medical emergency or a serious aircraft malfunction.
Tributes to 'truly lovely man' who died in Caernarfon airport crash - Daily Post (http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/john-backhouse-caernarfon-plane-crash-13595200)

[Hadley Rille]

Link to AAIB Report (https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aaib-investigation-to-piper-pa-31-n250ac)
"...The elevator trim was found in a significantly nose-down position, and whilst the reason for this could not be determined, it is likely it would have caused the pilot considerable difficulty in maintaining control of the aircraft...A possible scenario is a trim runaway..."

BBC News Report on result of investigation (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-47562957)Fatal Caernarfon Airport crash 'caused by plane fault'A man who died in a plane crash at Caernarfon Airport may have struggled with a fault in the flight control system, an investigation has found.
John Backhouse, 62, from Cheshire, was flying in his twin-engine plane from Northwich to Dublin when the crash happened on 6 September 2017.
Mr Backhouse contacted air traffic control five minutes before the crash requesting a diversion to Caernarfon.
Tests found it would have taken "substantial effort" to stay in flight.
The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) said Mr Backhouse was struggling with a pitch control problem with the elevators after requesting a diversion to Caernarfon.
Pitch relates to the angle between the nose and tail of the plane.
Eyewitnesses said they saw the plane approaching the runway at high speed.
CCTV footage showed the wings were level but the landing gear was retracted and the flight path had a very steep descent rate.
The aircraft broke up and caught fire after crashing into the runway, with the main part of the wreckage coming to rest 293m (961ft) further on.
The AAIB investigation examined whether or not Mr Backhouse had faced a runaway fault within the pitch trim system which was connected to the autopilot controls of the plane.
The report concluded that the fire damage made it difficult to determine the cause of the accident with a high level of confidence, but it was possible that there was a "nose-down trim runaway that the pilot was unable to stop".
John Backhouse was an experienced and highly qualified pilot who had flown a variety of aircraft and helicopters.
He was a businessman with expertise in finance and tax who had served as a Conservative councillor in Liverpool.