Light Aircraft down in Oxfordshire (Merged)
 

Taken straight from Sky News

"Mr Farage walked out of the light aircraft after the crash and has been taken to Horton General Hospital in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
The pilot had to be cut out of the wreckage and has been airlifted to a hospital in Coventry.
The plane was pulling a UKIP banner and it is believed it may have been caught up in the engine.
Northants Police told Sky News the plane crashed 10 minutes after take-off at 8am this morning at Hinton-in-the-Hedges airfield near Brackley in south Northamptonshire."

I do hope that the Pilot is OK.

BBC24 reporting plane was towing a banner?

Sky Sources: UKIP's Nigel Farage In Plane Crash | Politics | Sky News

Which sounds a bit more serious.
From Guido: <<The pilot is being taken to a specialist spinal injuries hospital in Coventry.>>

p.s. Spotters - what is it? Thanks XV105 - it's me eyes:)

The registration is visible in the photo, from which PZL-Okecie PZL-104 Wilga 35A, G-BWDF, Privately owned :)

I hope the pilot wasn't too hurt. I also hope Nigel recovers quickly from his injuries and gets a very well deserved seat in Parliament.

Are you allowed to have pax onboard for towing flights?

Yes

Ref: CAA CAP 393, Part 17, Section 128(1).

Dave

can you banner tow on a PPL? seem to remember reading you can.

Is it possible to get the banner caught in the prop? Sounds improbable.

Think about it for about half a second and that should clear it up. I presume you heard this suggested on Sky News as I just did.... :ugh:

Be aware! Idiot posts are not acceptable. If you cannot say something sensible don't say it all. Geddit?

And here's the BBCs version of event:

BBC News - Nigel Farage injured in plane crash in Northamptonshire

Isnt Hinton on Hedges a predominantly short grass field with max TODA of approx 700m?

Many thanks!

I heard that one too. They did also say that they had spoken to either an engineer or an expert (i didn't quite catch it) who had explained the probability of this actually happening. Then in their next breath continued with the banner in the engine line.

Still, at least there hasn't been the usual plummeting towards the local orphanage type lines...yet!

Ouch - looks nasty. More pictures over at the Daily Fail Here

Hope the pilot is ok also.

Not once you've picked the banner up, but having watched banner pickups at close range on several occasions I'd say it was possible at that stage of the proceedings. Can imagine an a/c being flipped over in those circumstances. Looks like a lucky escape for Farage, hope the pilot isnt too seriously injured

BTW The site I looked at has the a/c owned by Sky Banners Ltd

Looking at the wreckage, the banner is no where near the airframe!

I've just suffered listening to the crassness & banality of the 'jurnalists' interrogation of a rep from the local Police & almost thrown my TV through the window in frustration. What a load of tosh!
:ugh:

Just below the picture of a Wilga which clearly shows that it is a fixed wing monoplane, the Mail article says:

"The aircraft was believed to be a 1960s-style biplane which left the Winchester area early today and flew into Hinton." :ugh:

I heard the report of it being a biplane on BBC News 24 too. So a quick text to them to point out it was a Polish high-wing design (advised to check G-BWDF on the CAA database), that had apparently flipped over and was lying upside down, was promptly reported as such. The system works :o)

No comments to make about this accident.. but

It was my misfortune to spend time towing banners some years ago.
The mind is very good at blotting out unpleasant memories (such as banner towing in an aircraft that was only just capable of getting airborne even without anything attached! Beagle Terrifier)

As I recall I would strap myself in and a ground crew would hand me a grappling hook (through the window) attached to a glider type hook at the rear of the aircraft - I would then get airborne fly a quick circuit with a view to levelling of at approx 15 feet above two poles with the banner catch rope strung in between. I'd then chuck the grapple hook out of the window and adjust height to catch the line.

So technically speaking with our operation it would have been possible to catch the banner lines in the prop.

Mostly it all worked out OK and I emerged unscathed from these operations, but had one incident where the banner got caught up in longish grass after pickup and nearly stalled the aircraft before the weak link snapped...

Hope everyone recovers OK.