Pilot Survived, But Sustained Serious Injuries

The U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has released a report from an accident which occurred on July 10, 2012 at Cotswold (Kemble) Airport in Gloucestershire.

The aircraft was an OV-10B Bronco of U.K. registration. According to the report, the pilot was performing a display practice during which he attempted a barrel roll. Approaching the inverted position, at the top of the maneuver, the nose of the aircraft dropped below the horizon and the aircraft entered a steep descent. The pilot had reduced the rate of roll, thinking that it was too fast, but the aircraft continued to pitch through the vertical. The aircraft struck the ground in an approximately wings level, upright attitude with a high rate of descent. There was an immediate post-impact fire but the RFFS were on standby and reached the aircraft rapidly. The pilot was assisted from the aircraft having suffered serious injuries.

The OV-10B was a target-towing export variant of the OV-10A Bronco flown by the U.S. military developed for Germany.

The pilot later recalled that, by the time he realized the aircraft was departing from the normal flight path for a barrel roll, he was in an upright, approximately 45° nose-down, wings level attitude. As he tried to pull the nose up to the horizon, the rudder pedal shaker activated, indicating he was approaching the stall. He continued pulling but eased the back pressure on the control column to avoid stalling. He also recalled turning through 20 to 30º, to head towards an area which was relatively free from obstructions.

The pilot gained a Belgian Private Pilot’s License (PPL) in 1999 and was issued with a UK JAR PPL in 2001. In 2003 he gained a Belgian Commercial Pilot’s License (CPL) and in 2008 he was issued with a UK JAR CPL with a Shorts SC7 Skyvan type rating. The pilot first flew G-BZGK in 2001 when he ferried the aircraft from Belgium to the UK. For ex-military types, where no civil type rating exists, a Civil Aviation Publication (CAP) 632 Aircraft Type Rating Exemption is required. Prior to the start of training on the type, a pilot is required to agree with the CAA a training syllabus appropriate to his or her level of experience.

The CAA will then issue an exemption, specifying a period of training and the name of the person responsible for the conduct of that training. An initial short-term exemption was issued in 2001, for a ferry flight. A further exemption was issued in January 2008, when the pilot started flying G-BZGK regularly. Thereafter, annual exemptions were issued. The pilot advised that he had received basic training in aerobatics in 2000, and additional training in aerobatics as part of his qualification for his Belgian CPL. In February 2009, he undertook a further course of aerobatic training in the United States, consisting of 7.5 flying hours in an Extra 300L aircraft.

The pilot was first granted a DA by the CAA in June 2010. It was issued for the OV-10B aircraft and was restricted to flypast displays, with a minimum height of 200 ft agl. In June 2011, following a DA evaluation, he was granted an upgrade to Standard Category aerobatics, restricted to aileron and barrel rolls only, with a minimum height of 500 ft agl. In July 2011, he completed a further evaluation, after which his DA was upgraded to allow him to fly as a member of a formation display. His most recent DA renewal was in April 2012, when his DA was upgraded again, to reduce the minimum height during a flypast to 100 ft agl.

(OV-10B image provided by the AAIB)

FMI: Read the Report