Flight History
On 2 July 2024, a two-leg non-commercial recreational flight was conducted by an An-2 aircraft, registration SP-FIY, owned by ELTAK sp. z o.o. and operated by a private person. The first leg from Mirosławice (EPMR) to Bagicz (EPKG) took off at 12:06 and landed at 14:45 without incident. The second leg was planned from Bagicz to Bornholm (EKRN) with 12 passengers. The crew filed a flight plan for a 40-minute flight at 5000 ft (about 1500 m) and 95 kt (175 km/h), with a declared route via navigation points BABEN and KOLOB. Alternate airports were ESMI (Sjöbo) and ESMS (Malmö). Before departure, a safety briefing was repeated, and a passenger was designated to handle life rafts; all passengers were instructed to wear life jackets.
Incident
After takeoff at 16:22, the aircraft activated the flight plan. The cloud base allowed a climb to approximately 600 m (about 1900 ft). About 17 minutes into the flight, after covering about 28 NM (52 km), oil traces appeared on the pilot's windshield (left side). Intermittent smoke was observed from the engine compartment. Despite the leak, engine parameters, including oil pressure and cylinder head temperature, remained normal. Due to the unknown cause of the leak and the risk of escalation, the crew decided to discontinue the flight and return to the departure airport. The crew reported the emergency situation and landed without further incident on runway 25 at EPKG approximately 12 minutes after the onset of the leak.
Post-Flight Inspection
A post-flight engine inspection conducted by the operator revealed a crack in the gasket under the valve cover of cylinder No. 1.