El fly - Pipistrel havariet i 2018 skyldtes ikke motoren - ASN

Date:	13-OCT-2018
Time:	12:48 LT
Type:	Pipistrel Alpha Electro
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:	I-D057
C/n / msn:	883 AE 60
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Category:	Accident
Location:	Vosseberg, near Stadskanaal Airfield (EHST) -    Netherlands
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Drachten Airfield (EHDR)
Destination airport:	Stadskanaal Airfield (EHST)
Investigating agency:	Dutch Safety Board

Narrative:
In the morning of 13 October 2018, the pilot made preparations to fly the Pipistrel Alpha Electro 167, an electric-powered microlight aeroplane with registration I-D057, as the only occupant from Drachten Airfield to Stadskanaal Airfield. The pilot was scheduled to give an Alpha Electro ‘Tech talk’ with an associate at 13:00 hours local time at Stadskanaal Airfield.
The pilot departed Drachten Airfield’s runway 26 at 12:12 hours. He made a right turn and set course towards Groningen Airport Eelde. En route, the pilot flew at altitudes between 500 and 1,000 feet AMSL. He contacted Eelde Tower requesting to enter the control zone. After crossing the Eelde control zone the aeroplane flew towards Stadskanaal Airfield.
At 12:46 hours, the aeroplane entered the circuit area of Stadskanaal Airfield, joining downwind leg for a lefthand circuit for runway 24 at an altitude of approximately 500 feet. The pilot extended the downwind leg before initiating the turn to base leg.
After turning from downwind to base leg, the aeroplane developed a left overbanked and nose down attitude, resulting in a high sink rate. After having turned for approximately 270 degrees, the aeroplane came down on a country road, before bouncing between two trees and over a cycling path and a ditch. The aeroplane then hit the embankment of the ditch from where it skidded on farmland and came to a halt about 30 meters from the initial impact. Shortly hereafter the aeroplane caught fire. Bystanders managed to carry the pilot out of the aeroplane.
The pilot died of injuries sustained in the crash.

The accident was caused by a low airspeed situation, close to the stall speed. This led to a stall followed by an incipient spin from which the aeroplane did not recover. Contributing factors to the accident were the aeroplane’s full wing span flaperons in combination with the unusual landing configuration of +25° flaps on base leg, the aeroplane’s stall properties, the lack of a stall warning system and the pilot’s limited flying experience, proficiency and training with the Pipistrel Alpha Electro.
The technical investigation did not reveal any technical defect that could have been a contributing factor to the cause of the accident.