What happened
On May 25, 2019, at approximately 08:50 LMT, a TL-96 STAR aircraft, registration SP-SCLK, was performing a repositioning flight from Kobylnica (EPPK) to Kąkolewo (EPPG). The flight was intended to support an aviation festival celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Poznań Aero Club, specifically to deliver a special airmail box.
Following standard pre-flight procedures, the pilot secured a 5 kg backpack on the right seat using seatbelts to prevent it from shifting during flight. During the takeoff roll on runway 25, the aircraft reached rotation speed of approximately 80 km/t. As the aircraft lifted off, the pilot discovered that the control stick could not be moved freely. Despite applying significant force to push the stick forward to reduce the climb angle, the aircraft continued to climb at an increasing pitch.
In an attempt to manage the pitch, the pilot moved the elevator trim to the full nose-down position. However, as the airspeed dropped below the minimum threshold at an altitude of approximately 30 meters, the aircraft began to bank left. An attempt to use right rudder resulted in a slow right bank accompanied by a loss of altitude, leading to a flat impact with the ground. The aircraft struck the ground with its right wing and rotated 200 degrees. The pilot sustained serious injuries and was able to exit the cabin independently.
The investigation
The PKBWL investigation focused on the mechanical state of the flight controls and the cockpit configuration. Investigators examined the cockpit interior and found that the seatbelts used to secure the backpack had also inadvertently secured the right control stick. Physical evidence, including deformed control linkages and cables located under the seats, confirmed that massive forces had been applied to the left control stick while the right stick remained immobilized by the seatbelts.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the jamming of the control system caused by the right control stick being immobilized by the seatbelts used to secure cargo.
- A contributing factor was the pilot's failure to perform a full pre-flight checklist, which would have identified the restricted movement of the control stick.