Incident Overview
On February 17, 2013, an Ikarus C42 ultralight aircraft operated by Comco Ikarus GmbH crashed near Rüdesheim-Aulhausen, Germany. The accident resulted in the deaths of both occupants and the total destruction of the aircraft. The German Federal Aviation Office (BFU) concluded its investigation summarily under § 18 FlUUG, focusing solely on factual findings without assigning liability.
Flight Sequence and Witness Accounts
The pilot, a 23-year-old student, was flying with a 67-year-old instructor in the left seat. They departed from Bürstadt airfield at approximately 15:45 local time for an extended circuit flight. Prior to takeoff, the pilot contacted several airfields regarding weather conditions. At 15:16, he called Eibinger Forstwiesen, where staff advised that the field was not certified for ultralights and the surface condition was unsuitable for landing. The pilot stated he would only overfly the area.
At approximately 16:05, a witness observed the aircraft approaching from the south at an estimated altitude of 5 to 15 meters above ground level. After passing the club house on the southern edge of the airfield, the crew attempted a go-around maneuver. The aircraft drifted eastward toward rising terrain and failed to gain sufficient altitude. As it reached the end of the runway, the pilot initiated a right turn to avoid trees approximately 15 meters high. During this maneuver, the aircraft entered an overbanked stall condition and crashed into the forest, striking the right wing.
Aircraft and Operational Details
The Ikarus C42 is a two-seat shoulder-wing ultralight with a fixed tricycle landing gear. The specific aircraft involved had a serial number of 0001-6223, was built in 2000, and was powered by a Rotax 912 UL engine. It featured a WarpDrive three-blade propeller and a BRS 5UL4 ballistic recovery system, which did not deploy during the accident. The aircraft had accumulated over 2,500 flight hours. Its maximum takeoff weight was 472.5 kg. On the day of the accident, the combined weight of the two occupants was 169 kg, and fuel load was estimated between 20 and 30 liters.
Environmental and Technical Factors
Weather conditions were visual flight rules (VFR) with near-calm winds and a temperature of 4°C. The Eibinger Forstwiesen airfield is located on the northern slope of the Rhine Valley, with elevations ranging from 375 m to 485 m AMSL. The terrain is surrounded by mixed forest with trees reaching approximately 15 meters in height.
Technical analysis indicated that at the accident site's elevation and temperature, the aircraft's climb performance was reduced to approximately 4.38 m/s at 90 km/h. A go-around maneuver from that altitude would require a distance of roughly 750 meters and a height gain of about 90 meters to reach a maximum achievable altitude of 130 meters above ground level, assuming standard operating procedures were followed.
Post-Accident Findings
Upon arrival, emergency services found the aircraft burning on the forest floor. The wreckage was located in an inverted position. A detached propeller blade with impact marks was found five meters south of the wreck, while the nose gear and left main wheel were scattered nearby. Fire damage and carbon fiber fragments were observed in tree branches at a height of approximately 10 meters, consistent with the witness account of the initial impact.