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| Date: | Tuesday 27 August 2019 |
| Time: | 16:20 |
| Type: |  Morane-Saulnier MS.893A Commodore 180 |
| Owner/operator: | Propeller bvba |
| Registration: | OO-VON |
| MSN: | 12030 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport (KJK/EBKT) -
 Belgium
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Banner and glider towing |
| Departure airport: | Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport (KJK/EBKT) |
| Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport (KJK/EBKT) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIU Belgium |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft was used for a series of five banner towing flights for the Waregem Koerse, a horse race.
It was the 4th flight of the day.
The airplane took off from runway 24 of EBKT, the towing cable was released and the airplane deviated
to the left, proceeding towards the banner pick up point.
The ground crew noticed that the towing cable was inadequately released; the airplane was towing the
cable with the parachute deployed. The ground crew notified the pilot to drop the cable.
The towing cable moved around the airplane and ultimately interfered with the stabilizer and elevator,
forcing the airplane to pitch down.
The airplane crashed on the right side of runway 24 and flipped over. The pilot was fatally injured.
- The loss of control of the aircraft was due to the assembly of the towing line - parachute interfering with the elevator in flight. [direct cause]
- The towing cable was released from the aft hook in flight, shortly after lift-off, followed by a deviation of the aircraft to the left towards the banner pick-up position. [causal factor]
- Owing to the configuration of the forward hook and the force applied to the towing cable by the parachute, the release of the towing cable from the forward hook by the pilot was almost impossible after the towing hook was released from the aft hook. [causal factor]
- Although complying with the regulatory requirements for minimum experience, the pilot had not an extensive recent experience in banner towing operation. [contributing factor]
- The emergency procedures developed by the operator did not include a procedure to cope with the release from the aft hook before the release from the forward hook. No documentation was found showing a risk analysis was performed on this subject. [contributing factor]
- The aircraft was modified by the installation of the banner towing system of another aircraft without ensuring conformity to the approved documentation pertaining to this modification. [contributing factor]
- Several pilots of the operator, with much more experience than the accidented pilot, performed ‘direct pick-ups’, although no guidance or restrictions were found in the Operator’s Manual. The ‘direct pick-up’ procedure involves the early release of the towing cable from the forward hook, shortly after lift-off, followed by a deviation of the aircraft to the left towards the banner pick-up position. [contributing factor]
- The radio communication between the pilot and the ground crew did not entirely go through, causing a possible confusion in the actions of the pilot. [contributing factor]
- No clear radio phraseology was in place for such an emergency. As stated above, the communication didn’t go entirely through and the pilot probably only heard ‘trekken’ (pull), which could be understood as a command to pull-up (which in fact was understood like this by the AFISO). [contributing factor]
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.hln.be/in-de-buurt/wevelgem/sportvliegtuigje-neergestort-op-luchthaven-wevelgem-piloot-overleden~a5f80835/
https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2019/08/28/pilot-killed-in-wevelgem-air-crash/
https://www.aviation24.be/airports/kortrijk-wevelgem-kjk/apilot-doesnt-survive-light-sports-aircraft-crash/
https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2019/08/27/sportvliegtuig-gecrasht-in-wevelgem-piloot-komt-om-het-leven.app/
https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20190827_04577317
________________________
https://www.planespotters.net/photo/914856/oo-von-propeller-socate-ms-893a-rallye-commodore-180 (photo)
Media:
Piloot omgekomen bij vliegtuigcrash in Wevelgem https://t.co/buQUQo2TRH pic.twitter.com/WpipINE8Jc
— De Standaard (@destandaard) August 27, 2019
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Aug-2019 15:36 | gerard57 | Added |
| 27-Aug-2019 16:04 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 27-Aug-2019 16:05 | RobertMB | Updated [Location, Source] |
| 27-Aug-2019 17:47 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 28-Aug-2019 23:22 | RobertMB | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 08-Nov-2022 12:34 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 09-Nov-2022 01:03 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 12-Jun-2023 13:22 | harro | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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