AAIB investigation leads to manslaughter charges. UPDATE: Prosecution Withdrawn
 

Have just seen a news flash on Sky about a crash in kent. Two killed? Anyone got any further info?

Another Bad Day

From Sky news

TWO KILLED IN LIGHT AIRCRAFT CRASH


Two people have died after their light aircraft crashed on the top of cliffs on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, the fire service has said.

Emergency services were called to Warden Point after members of the public reported seeing the plane disintegrate in the air.


A spokesman for Thames Coastguard said they had received a number of 999 calls from local residents and passers-by who witnessed the crash in a field by the cliff-edge just before 2pm.

"It seems to have disintegrated in the air. The occupants appear to have come down with the plane," he added.

Kent Fire Service said two people in the plane had been confirmed dead.

"Our officers are at the scene. There does not appear to be any fire," the spokeswoman added.

From BBC NEWS ...

"Two die in light aircraft crash"

Two men have died when their light aircraft crashed on the top of cliffs on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent.
Emergency teams said the accident happened at Warden Point, just before 1400 BST on Saturday.

Members of the public told Thames Coastguard they saw the plane disintegrate in the air - coastguards said the men came down with the plane.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service said they attended the scene and found no fire, but that two men were confirmed dead.


Coastguards received several emergency calls from residents and passers-by who saw the air crash in a field by the cliff-edge.

Kent Police said the microlight crashed in Warden Road in the East Church area of Sheerness.

Emergency teams said the bodies were recovered by coastguards, but that their identities have yet to be established.

Investigators from the Civil Aviation Authority are at the scene.



Comiserations to family & friends .... !

EB

BBC news site saying two dead after a microlight (?) crash, members of the public report the aircraft 'disintergrated'.

RIP

Edited to say that myself and EB must have been posting at the same time.

I was flying over Sheppey at about the same time heading back to SEN from DVR. Sad news! :(

It was a flexwing microlight.

Very sad.:sad:

what a name for a flying machine in the circumstances......God rest their souls.

Quite close to where we live, and have friends who fly microlights from Rochester (need to call to see they are OK). From BBC Kent:-

"Two men died when their light aircraft crashed on the top of cliffs on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
Emergency teams said the accident happened in Plough Lane, just before 1400 BST on Saturday.

Members of the public told Thames Coastguard they saw the plane disintegrate in the air; coastguards said the men came down with the plane.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service said they attended the scene and found no fire, but that two men were confirmed dead.

Emergency calls


Rochester Airport control manager, Paul Richardson, who knew the men, said the pilot was in his 50s and the passenger in his early 20s.

"The passenger's family have been to the airport.

"They were very distressed and it was a while before they knew what was going on at the accident scene," he said.

Coastguards received several emergency calls from residents and passers-by who saw the air crash in a field by the cliff-edge.

"We are absolutely devastated. The pilot was a very close friend of ours," said a spokeswoman for the Rochester Microlight Flying School.

Investigators from the Civil Aviation Authority are at the scene. "


Steve

pegasus quik crash Kent
 

does anybody know the name of the pilot. I believe the wing parted company with the rest of the aircraft.:( RIP:(

Yes, several of us here do, but hold to the view that it's poor form to rush to publish names of those killed until they are released into the public domain by the authorities. It will be in the press soon enough no doubt.

As Fly Stimulator says.


This is an awful accident which has affected a great many people. The investigation is just starting, as is the painful process by which the bereaved must adjust their lives; unsurprisingly the police have not yet released the names - it's right that family are notified personally first.

We all have the deepest sympathies for the friends, colleagues and families of those who died. Whilst doing this, lets let those closest to them support them, and try to stay out of the way whilst the investigators do their job to try and find the cause, and prevent any recurrence of whatever happened here.

G

Awful, terrible news. Too often i have said the following words here recently. Deepest condolences to the families and friends of the deceased.

Foxy

AAIB investigation leads to manslaughter charge
 

"A 60-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter following the deaths of a pilot and his passenger in a microlight crash in Kent."

See:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4665502.stm

Now this probably should be moved to GA forum in due course... but it's news: what's the last time you can remember a crash leading to a manslaughter charge in the UK?

AAIB report is here:

http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/publicati...005_g_styx.cfm

"...the microlight's uprights upper fittings had been modified to comply with Service Bulletin 116 requiring the fitting of additional rivets. The additional rivets were not only fitted incorrectly, and without reference to the Service Bulletin, but two of them did not match the specification of those rivets supplied by the manufacturer..."

Presumably they've charged the rivetter...

R1

A helicopter engineer in 2001.

Link here


Heliport

Damn... should have remembered that one. Not really my department, but heard about it. Thanks Heli.

Interesting... that thread implies that the AAIB report was withheld until after the prosecution, presumably as it was prejudicial, whereas in the present case the prosecution followed the publication of the formal report.

R1

Long thread on this here: http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=198568

Ranger One

I remembered the previous occasion because it involved a helicopter.

It doesn't detract from the point you make. I can't think of any other aviation manslaughter case in the UK.

Worrying if people are now going to be prosecuted on the basis of information obtained by the AAIB.

H.

Not wishing to spoil the chat, but those of us closely involved are a bit concerned that too much loose talk about the technical details could possibly be prejudicial to the case.

The charge was unlawful killing of two people, BTW, which is a step up from gross negligence manslaughter, I think.

The inspector was a volunteer, not a licensed engineer. The aircraft was on a Permit to Fly, not a C of A.

VP

VP959 - I do understand from the other thread that you're not a stranger to some of the people involved in the case, but I don't think the above should be a serious concern - it's not as if there's going to be a lot of wild speculation about the causes, the AAIB report is in the public domain and contains as much of the technical detail as anyone could wish for. Whilst I understand some of the AAIB conclusions have ruffled feathers, the fact-finding is fairly clear-cut.

Flying Lawyer would be able to advise better on the legal aspects of discussing the case here, and in particular of the AAIB report being in the public domain. What's an AAIB report for, if not to inform the aviation community - and inevitably provoke discussion?

R1

No problem with discussion, but Flying Lawyer is unlikely to join in, perhaps you can guess why.

Perhaps I'm being overly cautious, but the discussion about this on other groups has been a bit controversial, to put it mildly.

My major fear is that that the accident cause has been at best over-stated with regard to accuracy and at worst has been down right wrongly reported, leading to possibly false impressions to be gained. Those that have read the report will have a problem equating a tested 10g equivalent failure load on a defectively modified component with the conclusions, for example.

Clearly there were many errors and ommissions by several people and organisations in this accident, as is often the case. My concern is that the focus has been on one man, who played a part in the chain, to the exclusion of all else.

One cannot help but wonder if this prosecution is in the public interest.

VP