AAIB Special Bulletin S1/2022 on Piper PA-28R-200-2, G-EGVA
Missing over English Channel, 2 April 2022.
Summary:
G-EGVA was one of seven aircraft taking part in a club ‘fly-out’ from Wellesbourne Mountford Aerodrome to Le Touquet in France. A line of highly convective cloud was forecast on the intended route in the English Channel. As they approached the middle of the Channel, one of the pilots of G-EGVA, which was operating under VFR, reported to London Information that they were in cloud. Neither of the pilots onboard was qualified to fly in cloud. Shortly after this transmission the aircraft disappeared from radar. An extensive search of the area was coordinated by the UK and French Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centres but neither the aircraft nor its occupants were found.
The available evidence, at the time of issue of this report, suggests that control of the aircraft was lost when it entered cloud. This Special Bulletin is published to remind pilots of the danger of entering cloud when not qualified to fly in IMC, and highlights the guidance available in the CAA Skyway Code and Safety Sense leaflets.
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