What happened
On September 10, 2004, at approximately 18:30 UTC, a Groppo Groppino ultralight, registration CS-UJT, departed from runway 28 at Aeródromo da Lezíria in Porto Alto, Vila Franca de Xira, for a recreational flight. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft entered an excessive nose-up attitude. This maneuver caused the aircraft to reach its stall speed, leading to a wing drop on the left side and an uncontrolled descent.
The aircraft impacted the ground with the nose and left wing low, approximately 90 meters from the runway edge. The force of the impact caused the tubular airframe to buckle into a V-shape. The momentum of the crash caused the aircraft to rotate 180 degrees from its original takeoff heading. During the impact, the vertical stabilizer struck the spinning propeller, destroying the three carbon blades. The engine continued to run until the fuel supply was manually disconnected.
The pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained serious injuries, including fractured ribs, a fractured left arm, and fractured heels. He was evacuated by helicopter to Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon.
The investigation
The GPIAAF investigation examined the aircraft's maintenance and the pilot's experience. The CS-UJT was a relatively new aircraft, having flown only 64 hours. The engine, a Rotax 503 UL, had 76 hours of total work. The investigation noted that the pilot had obtained his ultralight license only three months prior and had only 3 hours and 40 minutes of total flight experience, with only 2 hours and 5 minutes of that time performed solo in this specific aircraft.
Witnesses and the pilot's instructor noted that while the pilot was responsible, he had demonstrated difficulty with immediate reactions during anomalous or emergency situations. Meteorological conditions at the time of the accident were favorable, with CAVOK conditions and light winds.
Findings
- The pilot failed to react immediately to correct the excessive pitch attitude during the initial climb.
- The aircraft reached its stall speed due to the aggressive nose-up attitude.
- The pilot's limited flight experience contributed to the inability to recover the aircraft before it entered an uncontrolled descent.