D-EREU was undergoing the first part of its long ferry flight from Denmark to Reunion island (Indian Ocean) when they were forced to land due to engine trouble. They managed to land on a Czech motorway and a driver (who was also a pilot) recognized what was happening and wisely stopped traffic behind the plane. Unfortunately… the left wing hit a streetlight and was clipped rather forcefully, and then the nosegear collapsed. Fortunately it didn’t catch fire and both pilots are all right.
D-EREU was purchased by the Reunion-based Aeroclub du Sud for 105,000€. I’m quite touched by the news because this is the aeroclub I fly at !
By: Das Kardinal - 8th December 2010 at 18:57
Well, I’m bumping this up since the expert report called by the insurance company came up.
Quick facts (from the local newspaper’s article in French) :
_ the pilot didn’t have an IFR qualif (although the flight plan was IFR), but he is a local DGAC (Civil aviation authority) and BEA executive… and his personality seems to be raising reactions after the article (according to some, this guys’s a dubious character)
_ the direct cause of the accident : the installation of the fuselage ferry tank wasn’t done right, by a club member apparently. Consequence : the fuel in the right wing tank couldn’t be used. The plane crash-landed with 90 liters in it, the other tanks being empty.
Bad, bad, bad. It’s unlikely the insurance will pay the 130,000euros of compensation.
Moral of the story : don’t improvise and f*ck around with planes, it’ll bite you in the ass eventually. And it sucks because it’s gonna hurt my flying club 😡
By: Das Kardinal - 16th November 2010 at 18:17
What a shame about the streetlight. It would have been superb if they had pulled the landing off with no damage.
But they walked away from it I gather – so a satisfactory, if not perfect, ending
Moggy
Yeah, too bad about the streetlight. Hopefully the plane’s repairable.
By: Newforest - 16th November 2010 at 15:42
The ‘engine trouble’ will now include shockloading, should be ready to go in a couple of months. 😀
By: Moggy C - 16th November 2010 at 14:47
What a shame about the streetlight. It would have been superb if they had pulled the landing off with no damage.
But they walked away from it I gather – so a satisfactory, if not perfect, ending
Moggy
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November 16, 2010 at 2:26 pm