OVERVIEW OF ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS 2012

OVERVIEW OF ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS 2012

1. 
   03 FEBRUARY 2012: AIDC AT-3 ZIQIANG (PINGTUN, TAIWAN)
   

The left horizontal tail of Lead was ripped off after the collision, both pilots, Lt. Col. Chang Kuo-chiang, the back seat instructor, and 1^st Lt. Tseng Kuo-wen under training, ejected successfully; the other aircraft managed to return and land safely to Kangshan Air Force Base. “The accident indicates pilot error, but the cause of the crash has to await the investigation of experts” said President of Taiwan Air Force Academy Ke Wen-an.⁵

2. 13 MARCH 2012: CANADAIR NF-5 (ANATOLIA, TURKEY)

3. 23 MARCH 2012: AEROVODOCHODY L-39 ALBATROS (FLORIDA, USA)

Fireball horror: Flames and smoke billow into the sky as a stunt plane piloted by Martino Wirth crashes into the ground during an airshow near Erfurt, Germany. (Image: MailOnline)

“Formation Flight Ended In Tragedy” read a media report. During a performance at an airshow near Erfurt, pilot Martino Waller flew his 1950's-era Zlin 226 in a formation flight when he lost control of the airplane. Waller, was seen to swerve away from the formation just before the plane went down; the Zlin exploded in a massive fireball as it impacted the ground just 600 feet from the closest spectators. Pieces of wreckage fell into the crowd, but miraculously, nobody on the ground was injured.⁸

4. 
   16 MAY 2012: CANADAIR CT-114 TUTOR (MOOSEJAW, CANADA)
   

Mechanical failure remains a constant threat, not only to the display pilot, but the event organiser. (Image: Chris Moore)

The undercarriage of the only known flying example of a Fairey Firefly in the USA, collapsed during the landing run at the "Wings over Gillespie" Airshow in El Cajon. The pilot was uninjured, but the plane suffered fairly extensive damage when it went off the north side of runway 27R. The aircraft had to be removed from the grass area alongside the runway with a crane. Official cause unconfirmed, suspected mechanical failure.¹⁰

7. 15 JUNE 2012: CHRISTEN EAGLE (IDAHO, USA)

Local emergency personnel respond to the crash scene of the Christen Eagle onto a golf course next to the airport while conducting consecutive aileron rolls. (AP Photo/Mike Henneke, Standard Journal)

A lady passenger, one of four people on board the balloon offering ‘flips’ at the show, suffered a broken ankle in a hot air balloon crash in a cornfield at the Nebraska Airfest 2012 and State Fly-In. The balloon took off just before 7 a.m., despite high winds and had reached 500 feet but then began to lose altitude when it hit a warm pocket of air. The balloon's gondola tipped over when it hit the ground. The show continued as planned, but the U.S. Army's Parachute Team did not perform because of the windy conditions.¹²

The two-ship formation of L-39 Albatros vintage jet trainers were approximately five minutes into their routine in a very loose trail with the No. 2 pilot, GianFranco Cigione, line astern at approximately 300 feet behind. Having completed the first 180° of the loop, Cigione appeared to pull the Albatross hard into alignment with Lead’s plane of flight when the aircraft departed left to inverted, and then dived down into the ground, impacting on the display line approximately 300 metres from the spectator’s enclosure in a near wings level attitude. No collateral damage was reported.

An expert witness reported his opinion of the events surrounding the accident: “During a turnaround maneuver, the No 2 lagged behind Lead in trail. In order to get back into plane, he was flying a tighter radius loop for the first ¾ of the loop and then a noticeable tightening of the radius during the last ¼ occurred. This required a harder pull by the No. 2, who then ended up in a position that was on the outside of the radius of the loop on the way down.

Comment from one of the display pilots: “The show announcer immediately took control of the situation by instructing everybody to remain calm and to remain behind the barrier. And I emphasize the word immediately. There was no hesitation. In my opinion, his reaction and control over the public address system was outstanding considering the gravitas of what had just occurred. The emergency services responded immediately”

“As a result of the high standard as set by RAASA, ASSA and the organizers, the situation was dealt with in a manner that was of an exceptionally high standard and should be the bar for airshow organizers around the world to aspire to. I personally believe that we, as display pilots, are in good hands in the event of an incident or accident at airshows in South Africa.”

10. 
    01 JULY 2012: DE HAVILLAND DH 53 (OLD WARDEN, UK)
    

Although no official Accident Board findings have been released to date, initial eyewitness reports indicate engine power loss as the primary causal factor.

The 1923 ABC Scorpion (twin cylinder 30 hp) engined aircraft was the last surviving airworthy example of the fifteen built. Mr Roche had been the chief pilot for the Shuttleworth Collection, but stepped down two years ago, despite staying on as a pilot. The former RAF Tornado pilot had flown with the Collection since 1995.

11. 
    10 JULY 2012: ROCKWELL OV-10 BRONCO (GLOUSTERSHIRE, UK).
    

The Bronco slid across the main runway, breaking up as it continued for about 500 yards, coming to a stop some 100 feet from the tower. (Image GWAAC)

An eyewitness stated that: “He performed a climb, rolled inverted, then attempted to pull out of the loop but ran out of height”. According to another witness, the aircraft flew into the ground pulling through from the inverted. To be confirmed!!!!

The Bronco impacted the grass strip in front of the control tower just south of the main runway, almost level, where the drop tank exploded on contact, the front undercarriage dug in, pulling the nose cone off and both propellers. De Bruyn, lucky to be alive, managed to open the cockpit himself and was helped out by the fire crew and was taken by air ambulance to hospital where he underwent surgery for two fractured vertebrae and treated for burns to the upper torso.


Kemble fire crew were there in less than 30 seconds and began to fight the fire. (Image Bronco News Archive)
Cotswold Airport chief executive officer Susannah Harvey said: "The response from our Flight Information Service Officer and fire crew teams was immediate and exemplary containing the wreckage fire, recovering the pilot and administering critical First Aid care.

11. 
    22 JULY 2012: FOKKER DR.I REPLICA (CHARENTE, FRANCE)
    

The Fokker had been flying with an SE.5a replica when it departed controlled flight and spun in.¹⁴ An eyewitness reported seeing the aircraft in a spin just before the impact. The airshow was suspended as a result of the accident.

11. 
    26 JULY 2012: AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT 8KCAB, (WISCONSIN, USA)
    

As he undertook his first performance in a brand new Super Decathlon... an airplane he had picked up at the factory just a few days before... he did not expect what would transpire just a few short minutes into its inaugural outing. After a solid checkout, Koontz removed the aircraft from where it had been on display on the grounds of AirVenture, moved it to the flightline, and inspected it again in preparation for an afternoon flight in front of tens of thousands of Oshkosh attendees.

"I was cleared to RWY 36L and did a roll on takeoff, followed by a half Cuban 8, a 4 point roll and hammerhead." That done, he "headed back North with multiple rolls to left with a stop in the inverted attitude, but banked away from the crowd. From there he climbed for 60 seconds, while talking to the spectators about his flight school, the Decathlon and the maneuvers he was flying", all for the benefit of the airshow crowd.

Koontz lined up to the South, let the nose drop a bit with a slow roll while building up to 150 kts and then levelled out before pulling 4 Gs to start a loop that would have had a snap off the top.... had he not found himself, suddenly and without warning, laying across the back seat. The seat failed as he pitched up and through 45°; the only warning he received was "a big bang" after which he found himself laying across the back seat!

Koontz described a surreal situation... "I found myself laying down in the back seat... with my body across the rear stick which was applying full aft stick... The plane did 1½ snaps and banked away from crowd to about 90° where the plane stopped (somewhat) rightside up but with very little energy."

Koontz noted that the airplane was flying "under stall speed, but not stalling because it was floating through an arc..." but nonetheless leaving him in a position to pull himself up, retake control of the aircraft and affect a recovery form a bad and highly unusual situation. "If it had happened in other parts of the routine, it could have gone a lot worse," he noted and cited "divine intervention" as being on his side.

Koontz described the recovery process... "I picked myself up on the front seat and regained control of the airplane... sinking slightly... but it wasn't hard to control, but I had to hold myself up because there was no seat back anymore... but, of course, if the plane was inverted when it broke, it would have been a wholly different story and a lot more difficult to deal with."

Koontz quickly informed the Airshow Boss that he had a problem and was going to exit the show... with the show control folks checking in with him a little later to make sure that he didn't need any assistance... which he declined.

A minute inspection of the failure location, revealed that the seat had broken right at the root where the diagonal braces (supporting the seat) are welded... it was a clean break right at the weld. A more thorough inspection revealed that a small truss, normally in place to redistribute some of the seat loads, was missing and had not been installed when the seat was built. The affected seat was reportedly part of a defective lot of 10... of which most were either still at the factory or in display aircraft at the field while a quick check and replacement swapped out all the affected airplanes very quickly.

As a matter of fact, Koontz's seat was replaced in time for him to fly the next day, though one can just imagine what was going through his mind as he started that same 4G pitch-up that had wound up with him flat on his back the day before. The next day, during the Pilot's briefing, Koontz was presented with a "New 9G seat" by his airshow comrades... one that looked suspiciously like a toilet seat.¹⁵

11. 
    04 AUGUST 2012: INTERSTATE S-1/L-6 SCOUT: (EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA)
    

The accident happened after the airshow as Pietsch was flying at a low height searching for the foam aileron he routinely drops as part of the act. He reportedly lost power and could not reach the runway. An eyewitness reported: “He tacked in to land. The wing hit the wheat field, ripped the wing off, spun around,” he said. “He hit the dash. He got wounded. He got out of the plane, wandered around it and laid down in the field.” While Pietsch was OK, the plane wasn’t so lucky.¹⁶

11. 
    12 AUGUST 12 – JET SAILPLANE (WISCONSIN, USA)
    

Bob Carlton's Super Salto Jet Sailplane received damage at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow while it was parked at the hangar. Apparently, a truck accidentally drove right into the sailplane. He was unable to perform the rest of the week and transported the sailplane back to New Mexico on a trailer. Nobody was injured.

11. 
    23 AUGUST 2012: IAR 99 HAWK 718 (CRAIOVA, ROMANIA)
    

The Hawk 718 belonged to the Romanian Air Force Flight Test Centre. (Image: Adervarul)

11. 
    01 SEPTEMBER 2012: AEROVODOCHODY L39C ALBATROS, (IOWA, USA)
    

The airplane was registered to the Warbird Education Foundation, Texas. Shortly before the accident, the three L-39s were traveling in a westerly direction away from the spectators. According to the lead pilot, the aircraft were executing a crossover break, in which the accident airplane was in the left wing position.

During the crossover break, Lead entered a climbing maneuver, the left wing aircraft entered a right turn and the right wing aircraft entered a left turn with adequate longitudinal spacing. During the maneuver, the accident aircraft entered the right turn, descended, and impacted the terrain off field and although a post-impact fire ensued, no collateral injuries were reported.

The catastrophic impact was followed by a large unsurvivable fireball. Smith did not make a Mayday call or suggest any sign of distress before the crash and no evidence of any in-flight collision with the other airplanes was observed. A squadron of planes flew over the crash site the next day in the “missing man” formation before the airshow continued.¹⁸

11. 
    07 SEPTEMBER 2012: GOODYEAR F2G SUPER CORSAIR (NORTH DAKOTA, USA)
    

The remains of Bob Odegaard’s Corsair crash at the Barnes County Municipal Airport in Valley City, (Image: D. Michael Vosburg/Forum Photo Editor)

A number of witnesses reported that during the barrel roll, the airplane pitched to about 10º nose up and rolled left until about 10º past inverted, at which point the roll slowed and ultimately stopped. The airplane then pitched down and started to pull through from a very low height. The airplane subsequently impacted the ground in about a 10º nose down, wings level attitude. Initial ground impact was located about 500 feet from the approach threshold of runway 31 with a debris path about 450 feet in length. The airplane was fragmented during the impact sequence and a post impact fire ensued.

Records indicated that it entered service with the United States Navy in February 1946 and was restored and re-issued an experimental airworthiness certificate for exhibition and air racing purposes in July 2011 as Race #74. ¹⁹ The scheduled airshow in Valley City was cancelled as other aircraft adjacent to the impact point, picked up damage from the post impact shrapnel.

11. 
    08 SEPTEMBER 2012: DE HAVILLAND DH89 DRAGON RAPIDE (DUXFORD, UK)
    

Despite the rapid rate at which fabric and wood burn, the marshallers extinguished the fire before the fire crew arrived. (Image: Clare Scott)

The fire was probably caused by an exhaust fire during the start. Not a problem on metal aircraft where you just keep cranking until and it extinguishes; bit different with a fabric one. This was not the first time it has happened to this aircraft!”²⁰

11. 
    09 SEPTEMBER 2012: BAe HAWK T MK. I, (PORTRUSH, UK)
    

11. 
    11 SEPTEMBER 2012: HAWKER FB.11 SEA FURY (NEVADA, USA)
    

In a written statement to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), the pilot reported that following an uneventful takeoff, he had a malfunction with retracting the landing gear. After several attempts, the landing gear retracted, and he performed his race course qualifying lap. Upon exiting the closed race course, he attempted to extend the landing gear. After about twenty minutes of troubleshooting the landing gear, it appeared to be down, however, with the right main landing gear warning light illuminated. The pilot initiated a precautionary landing on runway 14 and during the landing roll, the right main landing gear collapsed and the airplane exited the right side of the runway.

Examination revealed that the landing gear rotary selector valve seal had failed, which allowed undercarriage hydraulic pressure to bypass which would preclude the landing gear retraction system from operating normally.²²

11. 
    16 SEPTEMBER 2012: YAKOLEV 52 (ALABAMA, USA)
    

When the third airplane performed the barrel roll, as the airplane reached the wings level attitude, the nose of the airplane was in a high pitch angle. The airplane began to descend in that nose high attitude. Then the airplane’s nose dropped below the horizon and it was lost from sight behind the trees that separated the open field and the airport’s grass runway. A loud impact noise was heard and smoke was seen immediately rising behind the trees²³ . Every year the question is asked: “Why carry passengers on a display flight”? When will display pilots realise that a display is not the time or place for passengers to tag along for low level aerobatics?

11. 
    29 SEPTEMBER 2012: FFA/SIAI-MARCHETTI AS/SA 202 BRAVO (BANDUNG, INDONESIA)
    

Fortunately, the Indonesian Air Force logistics warehouse was not occupied when the AS/SA 201 impacted the building.

11. 
    15 NOVEMBER 2012: KOREAN AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES TA-50B (SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA)
    

South Korean investigators concluded that the reason for a T-50B crash, was a maintenance technician failing to connect a wire and reactivate the vertical flight controls after making repairs. The failure in the flight control system caused the T-50B to lose control in flight. The commanding officer of the aircraft maintenance unit committed suicide as a result of the crash and his subordinate’s role in it.

Making their first ever appearance in the UK, On 1 July 2012, the Black Eagles were awarded the Boeing Trophy for best display at the 17^th Waddington International Air Show. On 8 July 2012, the Black Eagles were awarded the King Hussein Memorial Sword, for the "Best Overall Flying Demonstration" and the “As The Crow Flies Trophy” at the Royal International Air Tattoo.²⁵

11. 
    22 NOVEMBER 2012: ROCKWELL OV-10 BRONCO (CARACAS, VENEZUELA)
    

11. 
    27 NOVEMBER 2012: HONGDU K-8W KARAKORUM (CARACAS, VENEZUELA)
    

The crew eject from the Venezuelan Hongdu K-8 Karakorum (Image: ©Erwin Fuguet Gedde)

Within the safety industry, icebergs are a common and useful metaphor. Ninety percent of an iceberg's mass is underwater and undetectable from the surface with just ten percent visible above the waterline. Similarly, actual accidents are just the tip of the “safety iceberg” with incidents, mishaps and near misses making up the other 90% of hazardous “events.” Not nearly as visible, these “non-accident” events typically get just a fraction of the attention that accidents receive.

An iceberg expert will tell you that if you reduced the mass of ice under the water, there would be a corresponding reduction in the amount of ice above the water. Put more simply, removing 20% of the submerged ice would remove 20% of the visible ice. Similarly, if we used education and improved practices to reduce the number of incidents, mishaps and near misses, the overall number of accidents would be reduced, creating a safer and more professional air show environment...a goal that we all support.²⁷

	Date	Aircraft Type	Category	Accident	Fatal	Eject	Event	Location
1	03 Feb 2012	AIDC AT-3	Trainer Jet	Midair Collision(?)	0	2 Yes	Display Practice	Pingtun, Taiwan
2	13 Mar 2012	Canadair NF-5 Tiger Turkish Stars	Fighter Jet	FIT? (Unknown)	1 Pilot	No	Display Practice	Anatolia, Turkey
3	23 Mar 2012	Aerovodochody L-39C Albatros Black Diamond	Vintage Trainer Jet	Wheelsup Landing???	0	N/A	Airshow	Florida, USA
4	30 Apr 2012	Zlin 226	Vintage Trainer Propeller	LOC (Unknown)	1 Pilot	N/A	Airshow	Erfurt, Germany
5	16 May 2012	Canadair CT-114 Tutor Snowbirds	Trainer Jet	Birdstrike	0	N/A	Airshow	Moosejaw, Canada
6	03 Jun 2012	Fairey Firefly	Vintage Fighter Propeller	Mechanical (Undercarriage)	0	N/A	Airshow	California, USA
7	15 Jun 2012	Christen Eagle	Sport Aero	Rolls Aileron (Engine)	1 Pilot Inj	N/A	Airshow	Idaho, USA
8	18 Jun 2012	Hot Air Balloon	Balloon	Environmental (Wind)	1 Pax Inj	N/A	Airshow	Nebraska, USA
9	29 Jun 2012	Aerovodochody L-39 Albatross	Vintage Trainer Jet	LOC (Loop)	1 Pilot	N/A	Airshow	Klerksdorp, South Africa
10	01 Jul 2012	De Havilland DH-53 Hummingbird	Vintage Light Utility	LOC Engine Fail??	1 Pilot	N/A	Airshow	Old Warden, UK
11	10 Jul 2012	Rockwell OV-10 Bronco	Vintage Fighter Propeller	FIT (Split S)	1 Pilot Inj	No	Display Practice	Gloustershire UK
12	22 Jul 2012	Fokker DR.1 Replica	Vintage Fighter Propeller	LOC (Unknown)	1 Pilot	N/A	Airshow	Charente, France
13	26 Jul 2012	American Champion Super Decathlon	Sport Aero	Mechanical (Seat)	0	N/A	Airshow	Wisconsin, USA
14	04 Aug 2012	Interstate S-1/L-6 Scout	Vintage Trainer Propeller	Mechanical (Engine)	0	N/A	Airshow	Alberta, Canada
15	12 Aug 2012	Jet Sailplane	Glider	Ground Collision (Vehicle)	0	N/A	Airshow	Wisconsin, USA
16	23 Aug 2012	IAR 99 Hawk 718	Trainer Jet	FIT (Unknown)	1 Pilot 1 Pilot Inj	1 Yes	Display Practice	Craiova, Romania
17	01 Sep 2012	Aerovodochody L-39C Albatross	Vintage Trainer Jet	FIT (Crossover Break)	1 Pilot	N/A	Airshow	Iowa, USA
18	07 Sep 2012	Goodyear F2G Super Corsair	Vintage Fighter Propeller	FIT (Barrel Roll)	1 Pilot	N/A	Display Practice	North Dakota USA
19	08 Sep 2012	De Havilland DH-89 Dragon Rapide	Vintage Transport Propeller	Mechanical (Engine Fire Start Up)	0	N/A	Airshow	Duxford, USA
20	09 Sep 2012	BAe Hawk T. Mk 1 Red Arrows	Trainer Jet	Birdstrike	0	N/A	Airshow	Portrush, UK
21	11 Sep 2012	Hawker Sea Fury FB.11	Vintage Fighter Propeller	Mechanical (Undercarriage)	0	N/A	Airshow	Nevada, USA
22	16 Sep 2012	Yakolev 52	Vintage Trainer Propeller	FIT (Barrel Roll)	1 Pilot 1 Pax	N/A	Airshow	Alabama, USA
23	29 Sep 2012	Sia Marchetti AS 202 Bravo	Light Utility Propeller	LOC (Unknown)	2 Pilot	N/A	Airshow	Bandung, Indonesia
24	15 Nov 2012	KAI TA-50B Black Eagles	Trainer Jet	Mechanical Human error (Flight Control System)	1 Pilot	No	Display Practice	Seoul, South Korea
25	22 Nov 2012	Rockwell OV-10 Bronco	Vintage Fighter Propeller	Midair Collision (?)	1 Pilot	1 No 2 Yes	Flypast Practice	Caracas, Venezuela
26	27 Nov 2012	Hongdu K-8 Karakorum	Trainer Jet	Mechanical (Unknown)	0	2 Yes	Flypast	Caracas, Venezuela