Location: Temple Bruer Airfield, Lincolnshire
Date of occurrence: 03 May 2014
Summary:
The pilot had taken off in fine weather to conduct a test flight. The aircraft had been refuelled to full prior to flight, but after takeoff the pilot noticed the fuel gauge was reading less than half-full. He decided to make an immediate return to the airfield but, on approach to land, the engine stopped. The pilot attempted to make the runway but the mainwheels caught a hedge before the threshold and the aircraft overturned. The pilot, who was wearing a full safety harness, sustained only minor injury.
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Investigation into aircraft crash near Sleaford leaves questions unanswered
A probe into an aeroplane crash at an airfield near Sleaford has been unable to discover why its engine failed.
The light aircraft was being flown by an 81-year-old pilot when it crashed at Temple Bruer Airfield, near RAF Cranwell, in May.
It landed on its roof and was left badly damaged but the pilot escaped from the wreckage with only minor injuries.
An investigation into the crash was launched by the Air Accident Investigation Branch and has now been completed.
The report says the 2003 built Rand KR-2 – reg G BVIA – owned by Michael Thomas Taylor of Main Street, Boothby Graffoe, had taken off in fine weather.
It says the intention of the pilot, who had 792 hours flying experience, was to conduct a flight test.
The report says: “The aircraft had been refuelled to full prior to flight, but after take-off the pilot noticed the fuel gauge was reading less than half-full. He decided to make an immediate return to the airfield but, on approach to land, the engine stopped.
“The pilot attempted to make the runway but the main wheels caught a hedge before the threshold and the aircraft overturned.”
The report adds that the pilot, who was wearing a full safety harness, sustained only minor injuries, but that the aircraft suffered “considerable damage.”
The small airfield near RAF Cranwell was designated as a satellite airfield during the Second World War when it was used for emergency landings.
After the war, the site became temporary living quarters for 1,000 Ukranian and German former prisoners of war.
The site returned to farmland in 1951 but is now used as a small private airfield.
