Date:	Monday 11 September 2017
Time:	10:56 LT
Type:	Piper PA-28RT-201 Cherokee Arrow IV
Owner/operator:	Alpha Yankee Ltd
Registration:	G-BHAY
MSN:	28R-7918213
Year of manufacture:	1979
Engine model:	Lycoming IO-360-C1C6
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Wolferton, 7 miles north of King’s Lynn, Norfolk -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	London Southend Airport (SEN/EGMC)
Destination airport:	Newcastle Airport (NCL/EGNT)
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
The AAIB has sent a team to investigate a light aircraft accident that occurred 7 miles north of King’s Lynn, Norfolk. According to the person that heard the mayday call, it was a Piper PA-28 Arrow with a rough running engine, then smoke in cockpit and then complete engine failure.

A pilot in his 50s and a female passenger in her 70s have died in the crash on marshland near Wolferton, Norfolk Police said. The pair were pronounced dead at the scene and there were no other casualties

A spokesman for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said. “Our inspectors are on site gathering evidence and conducting interviews. We expect to recover the aircraft later today and take it to our facility in Farnborough (in Hampshire) where a detailed examination can take place....”

An updated report from the BBC TV Look North (BBC North East & Cumbria, broadcast 13.9.2017) named the pilot as "Nigel Dodds, 58, from Gateshead" and the passenger was named as "Valerie Barnes, from the Whickham area of Gateshead". The "Look North" report also states that G-BHAY was en-route "from Menorca to Newcastle". (The stopover at London Southend Airport was to clear customs and immigration formalities)

UPDATE:
The official AAIB report into the accident was published in 9 August 2018, and the following is the summary from that report...

"The aircraft was en-route from London Southend Airport to Newcastle International Airport. Over the Wash, the pilot reported that the aircraft’s engine was rough running and he turned towards the coast, during which time the engine failed. During the forced landing it is likely that the aircraft stalled and then struck a berm (the old sea wall) with a high rate of descent. The pilot and his passenger were fatally injured.

Whilst it could not be positively determined why the aircraft stalled, the investigation revealed that the aircraft’s engine had not been maintained according to the manufacturer’s instructions whilst it was not used for long periods and parked outside.

=AAIB Conclusion=
The accident was likely the result of the aircraft stalling at a low height from which there was insufficient height to recover, during an attempted forced landing following a catastrophic engine failure.

The engine failure was due to oil loss caused by damage and premature wear to the oil control rings. The engine had been inactive for several months, and probably had not been inhibited in accordance with the manufacturer's guidance, leading to the formation of corrosion within the engine"

=Damage sustained to airframe=
Per the AAIB report: "Engine front fuselage, wings and landing gear severely disrupted". As a result, the aircraft was presumably damaged beyond economic repair, as the registration G-BHAY was cancelled by the CAA on 24 May 2018

Wolferton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sandringham, in the King's Lynn and West Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. It is 2 miles west of Sandringham, 7½ miles north of King's Lynn and 37¼ miles northwest of Norwich.

1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5b69b54f40f0b62ea046e36e/Piper_PA-28RT-201_Cherokee_Arrow_IV_G-BHAY_08-18.pdf
2. http://www.itv.com/news/2017-09-11/light-aircraft-crash-near-wolferton-in-norfolk/
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-41236622
4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-41253434
5. https://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=105373&sid=10fa2925558c8c5df9a6de5c67379d7e
6. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/pilot-female-passenger-die-light-11152018
7. https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/sandringham-estate-plane-crash-gateshead-15007896
8. https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/20827023.pilot-died-plane-crash-queens-sandringham-estate-named-nigel-dodds/
9. https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N2910N
10. G-BHAY History 1979-1985: https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-BHAY-1.pdf
11. G-BHAY History 1985-1987: https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-BHAY-2.pdf
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolferton

This Piper PA-28RT-201 Cherokee Arrow IV was built in 1979, and was first registered in the United States as N2910N to Ernest J Kuney of Mill Hall, PA. The US registration was cancelled on 15 August 1979. The aircraft was re-registered in the UK as G-BHAY two days later, on 17 August 1979. Between 17 August 1979 and 8 October 1996. G-BHAY passed through the hands of seven successive owners. As at 10 March 2017, G-BHAY had accumulated a total of 4,881 flying hours on the airframe.

After the incident at Wolferton on 11 September 2017 the aircraft was presumably damaged beyond economic repair, as the registration G-BHAY was cancelled (and the airframe de-registered) by the CAA on 24 May 2018

Photo: AAIB

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
11-Sep-2017 17:29	Aerossurance	Added
11-Sep-2017 17:43	Aerossurance	Updated [Source, Narrative]
11-Sep-2017 18:18	Aerossurance	Updated [Narrative]
11-Sep-2017 21:12	Aerossurance	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Nature, Source, Damage, Narrative, Plane category]
12-Sep-2017 05:42	Anon.	Updated [Aircraft type, Plane category]
12-Sep-2017 06:34	Aerossurance	Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative]
12-Sep-2017 06:40	Aerossurance	Updated [Source]
12-Sep-2017 10:23	david29	Updated [Narrative]
12-Sep-2017 14:23	FERRYAIR	Updated [Registration, Cn, Source]
12-Sep-2017 14:24	harro	Updated [Aircraft type]
12-Sep-2017 17:30	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Phase, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
12-Sep-2017 19:04	Iceman 29	Updated [Embed code]
12-Sep-2017 20:02	Aerossurance	Updated [Operator, Embed code, Narrative]
13-Sep-2017 13:11	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
13-Sep-2017 13:13	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
21-Nov-2017 17:33	Anon.	Updated [Departure airport]
09-Aug-2018 13:33	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
22-Aug-2018 14:43	harro	Updated [Embed code, Photo, ]
10-Jun-2024 16:26	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]