Prototype Aircraft Crash in the Netherlands (G-ATCT)

Flight Details and Initial Contact on 1137 hrs local time, the prototype aircraft departed Emden, Germany, on a non-scheduled international VFR flight to Southampton, England. The aircraft carried a pilot and one passenger. Two minutes after takeoff, it made radio contact with Eelde. At 1150 hrs, the pilot reported being abeam Eelde VOR at 1,500 ft in VMC on top of cloud, a position where visual ground contact was not possible. At 1156 hrs, the pilot requested radar assistance from Amsterdam Flight Information Service to pass through the Schiphol Control Zone, but positive radar contact could not be established. At 1209 hrs, the aircraft was advised to divert to Eelde because weather conditions in the Schiphol Control Zone precluded VFR flight through the zone at 1,500 ft. The pilot stated he would proceed according to his flight plan. At 1220 hrs, while flying at 1,500 ft, the pilot informed Schiphol that he would clear the Schiphol Control Zone to the west, despite a controller instruction to remain clear of the zone and that passage at 1,500 ft under VFR was impossible. Flight path reconstruction showed that at about 1225 hrs the aircraft deviated from its route and cleared the Schiphol area on a heading of about 040°. At 1234 hrs, the pilot reported serious compass trouble and requested a steer, but Amsterdam still had no radar contact. Eyewitnesses reported the aircraft flying at very low height around the village of Rijs, returning to or passing over the same area several times. Witnesses also indicated that fog and rain prevented adequate visual reference. At 1240 hrs, the pilot reported some compass trouble and again requested radar guidance, but radar contact had still not been established. Low-altitude flight apparently stopped at about 1247 hrs. At 1249 hrs, the pilot reported at 3,000 ft in IMC and a serious instrument failure. Schiphol Control instructed him to maintain FL 30 (3,000 ft) and a heading of 200°. Contrary to this instruction, the pilot reported at FL 50 at 1251 hrs and at 6,000 ft at 1254 hrs. At 1255 hrs, the controller asked if the aircraft was circling; the pilot replied affirmatively and said, “I think I am going around it.” The controller acknowledged and remarked that the aircraft should be heading 200°; the pilot replied, “I cannot maintain a heading.” At that moment, the aircraft was positively identified on the radar screen. In response to instructions to fly specific headings and make a left-hand turn, the pilot said he could not maintain a heading and that right-hand turns were easier to make. At 1258 hrs, the pilot requested the height of cloud tops and asked if there were any clear layers where visual flight conditions could be found. He was cleared to climb to FL 80; however, a German military aircraft that had recently flown over Spijkerboor at FL 100 reported being fully IMC there. At 1301 hrs, the pilot reported at 8,700 ft and said, “climbing as fast as I can, I want to get out on top”; this was the last recognizable transmission heard by Schiphol. The aircraft was observed on the radar screen until about 1309 hrs, when radar contact was lost. The radar controller indicated that the last 10 to 12 minutes of radar data showed a series of random small-radius right and left-hand turns. At 1310 hrs, witnesses near Ringwiel lake saw parts of an aircraft falling, most of it into the lake; these were later identified as parts of the subject aircraft. Calculations and evidence suggested the aircraft climbed above 10,000 ft, where it would have encountered severe icing and moderate to severe turbulence. The time of impact was estimated at approximately 1310 hrs. The aircraft was totally destroyed, and both occupants were killed.