AAIB investigation to Druine D.62A Condor, G-ASEU

Loss of control joining the circuit at Insch Airfield, Aberdeenshire, on 18 April 2015.

Summary:

The pilot was carrying out a flight from Inverness Airport to Insch Airfield. The weather was good, with a light and variable wind and visibility in excess of 10 km. There were few clouds, with a base at 2,000 ft at Inverness, increasing to 3,500 ft at Insch.

On arrival at Insch, the pilot positioned the aircraft to join the left hand circuit for Runway 13. He descended from 1,500 ft and lowered full flap during the crosswind leg. As the aircraft turned left onto the downwind leg, it stalled, the left wing dropped and it descended rapidly to the left. There was insufficient height to recover and the aircraft struck a stock fence, coming to rest inverted. Personnel from the airfield quickly attended the scene and helped the pilot to free himself from the wreckage. He immediately received medical assistance and was found to be uninjured.

The pilot concluded that he had lowered full flap earlier than usual and had allowed the speed to decay during the left turn leading to the stall and wing drop. The aircraft had a tendency to drop a wing when stalled, with full flap, at about 36-38 kt.

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Druine D.62A Condor, G-ASEU 12-15

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Updates to this page

Published 10 December 2015