What happened
On 17 May 2017, an Aerotechnik EV-97 Eurostar, registration G-TIVV, was performing a private flight in the Yarrow Valley, Scottish Borders. The aircraft was departing for a local flight with one pilot and one passenger on board.
As the aircraft reached flying speed and the wheels left the ground, the pilot discovered that the control stick could not be moved rearwards. Because the aircraft was unable to climb, the pilot decided to abort the takeoff. During the subsequent landing back on the airstrip, the aircraft bounced and pitched upward before stalling. The aircraft then struck the ground in a nose-down attitude, resulting in damage to the propeller, the nose landing gear, and the lower fuselage panels. There were no injuries to the two occupants.
The investigation
Following the incident, the pilot inspected the aircraft and found that all flight controls were functioning normally. The investigation considered the possibility of a temporary obstruction within the cockpit that prevented the control stick from moving backward. It was noted that the passenger was carrying a large, bulky camera, which may have been positioned in a way that interfered with the control movement.
Findings
- The primary cause of the aborted takeoff was a restriction in the cockpit preventing the rearward movement of the control stick.
- The passenger's bulky camera may have acted as an obstruction to the controls.
- The subsequent ground impact was caused by a bounce and pitch-up during the aborted takeoff landing, leading to a stall and nose-down impact.