Kolb Twinstar Mk III (Modified) Twinstar, G-MYXS, 27 July 2013
Kolb Twinstar Mk III (Modified) Twinstar, G-MYXS
Summary:
The aircraft was being prepared for a flight back to its home base at Clotton, about 13 km east of Chester, having earlier made a 46 minute flight to Arclid Airfield. The pilot performed his usual checks and noted that all the instruments gave normal readings; he also had more than sufficient fuel onboard for the flight.
He took off using maximum engine rpm but at a height of approximately 250 ft, the engine stopped abruptly. The pilot realised that he could not safely alter his heading substantially, so he searched ahead for a suitable field. The first field he saw was growing tall rape but the one after that contained wheat, which the pilot thought looked preferable for a forced landing. However, there was insufficient height for the aircraft to glide to the second field and it landed in the rape, coming to a rapid halt as it did so. The aircraft remained upright and the pilot was uninjured.
The pilot is uncertain of the cause of the engine failure but notes that the carburettor bowl was dry and the propeller very stiff to turn, possibly because of fuel (and therefore also lubricating oil) starvation of this two-stroke engine.
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