What happened
On the afternoon of September 13, 2015, a pilot was conducting a recreational flight in a Roland Aircraft Zodiac CH601D ultralight aircraft. The flight began at the Hasselfelde-Westernstadt airfield, continuing to the Uehrde airfield near Wolfenbüttel. At approximately 16:30, the pilot departed from Uehrde with the intention of flying toward Magdeburg.
Around 16:50, witnesses observed the aircraft flying at a low altitude, traveling from west to east near the town of Ohrsleben. During this phase of the flight, the aircraft's propeller struck a 20-kV overhead power line located approximately nine meters above the ground. The impact caused a transmission mast to break and damaged another. The aircraft subsequently crashed into a nearby field, where the wreckage caught fire. The pilot sustained fatal injuries, and the aircraft was destroyed. The collision also caused damage to the power lines and surrounding ground.
The investigation
The BFU investigation focused on the sequence of events and the condition of the aircraft and infrastructure at the crash site. Investigators examined the wreckage, which was found in a supine position 44 meters from the initial point of impact with the power lines. The central cockpit and engine areas had been heavily consumed by fire, resulting in the melting of aluminum and glass-reinforced plastic components.
Investigators noted that two propeller blades were found near the severed power lines. The investigation also examined the aircraft's ballistic parachute system. While the rocket motor's empty canister was recovered, the parachute mass had melted due to the post-crash fire. There was no evidence to suggest that the emergency recovery system had been deployed prior to the impact.