PA32 down in Alderney

[Air Soul]

See www.channelonline.tv

All occupants OK, plane less so

[LateFinals]

I was in Alderney this afternoon before flying back to the UK. There were patches of mist around lunchtime intermittently obscuring the runway. There will of course be a formal report but it appears from local sources that the plane was on late finals and a bank of sea fog / mist suddenly came in disorientating the pilot and the plane stalled well away from the runway possibly attempting a go around. Alderney airport was closed for a short time due to a lack of fire cover.

Looking at the air frame, it seems the pilot and passengers were very very lucky not to have had more serious injuries.

LF

[BoeingMEL]

A very lucky escape...it would seem.

I imply no criticism here as I do not know the pilot or have any information on his qualifications and experience.

If it is true however that he/she encountered sudden IMC conditions on approach to land (ie low and slow) then a missed approach would have been very challenging for someone without well-practiced instrument-flying skills.

Other old timers will know this and I record it only as a warning sign for less experienced pilots. Cheers bm

[Newforest2]

One passenger flown to Guernsey hospital with a broken leg.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Guernsey | Three hurt in light plane crash

[Sir George Cayley]

From the video in the 1st post I notice that the 3 propellor blades seem to show a lack of damage consistent with low power / rotational energy.

Sir George Cayley

[lastgasp]

Connoisseurs of journalism may enjoy this, taken from the crews' local paper, the Wolverhampton Express and Star:

"The aircraft is thought to have stalled as it tried to avoid a fog bank while coming into land in Alderney and was too low for the propellers to be restarted".