Pilot September 2017

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Safety Matters

Safety Matters and Safety Briefs are based on the AAIB Bulletin UK

Airprox Board reports, with additional material from the US National

Transportation Safety Board

Wrong runway stall/spin

Aircraft Type: Rans S6-ESD (Modified)

Coyote II

Date & Time: 30 May 2016 at 1557

Commander’s Flying Experience: NPPL, 185

hours, eight on type

Last 90 days: 13 hours

Last 28 days: 10 hours

The aircraft was on a flight to Shifnal,

where Rwy 36 was in use, although the

‘T’ in the signals square indicated that

Rwy 28 was the active. When the

aircraft turned onto the right-hand

downwind leg for Rwy 28 witnesses

noticed that it was lower and closer to

the airfield than normal for that circuit

and appeared to be following the

railway line which runs just north of the

airfield. It was then seen to turn right

towards the final approach leg for Rwy

28, flew through its extended

centreline, rolled wings level and

headed towards the airfield, although

noticeably south of the normal final

approach path and near to a local

noise-sensitive area.

The aircraft then turned onto an

easterly heading, the turn described by

witnesses as “quite steep” and at a low

speed. It rolled abruptly in a manner

suggesting a wing-drop stall, from which

it recovered, then at low height banked

left, appeared to enter a spin and

descended out of view. A witness who

was not at the airfield had a clear view of

the final part of the aircraft’s descent

and said that it was pitched nose-down

approximately 80° and turned through

at least 300°.

The Coyote II crashed in a gently

sloping barley field south-east of the

Rwy 28 threshold, in an upright but

steep nose-down attitude. Pilot and

passenger had been fatally injured. One

propeller blade had broken off on impact

and fragmented into multiple pieces. The

other blade remained attached and

intact. Neither blade displayed

substantial evidence of leading-edge

damage or chordwise scuffing, indicating

lack of rotation, or rotation at low power,

at impact.

Examination of the wreckage at the

AAIB’s Farnborough facility confirmed

Wrong runway and wrong attitude caused a similar Coyote II to stall and spin