Accident Details
On 12 May 2001 at 0835 UTC, a Cessna 182S (registration G-BYEG) was destroyed after crashing at Leicester Airport. The aircraft was operated by a private pilot and his wife, both of whom sustained fatal injuries. The flight was intended as the first leg of a holiday to Copenhagen.
The aircraft was manufactured in 1998 and powered by a single Lycoming IO-540-AB1A5 piston engine. The pilots, a married couple, had owned a share in a Cessna 182 for 11 years. They purchased G-BYEG in 1998 as a replacement after their previous aircraft was damaged in a storm.
Flight History
The weather on the morning of the accident was dominated by an anticyclone. At Leicester Airport, the sky was clear, the QNH was 1022 mb, and the surface wind was from the north-east. The runway in use was Runway 04, a tarmac surface 490 metres long.
Shortly after 0800 hours, the pilots arrived and prepared the aircraft. A minor fuel drip from the engine bay was resolved. After a brief conversation with friends departing in another aircraft, the pilot occupying the left seat and his wife (acting as co-pilot in the right seat) began engine start and taxi, which were normal. At the holding point, the co-pilot reported power checks complete and the aircraft ready for departure. The measured wind was 040° at 5 to 10 kt.
The aircraft then began its take-off roll. Witnesses did not note the flap position, but the pilots habitually used 10° flap for take-off. Acceleration was normal, and the aircraft became airborne after about 200 metres. Up to approximately 100 feet above ground level (agl), the take-off appeared normal. Subsequently, the aircraft adopted an increasingly nose-high attitude, culminating in a gentle left roll at about 300 feet agl, after which the nose dropped sharply. Witnesses described what seemed to be a stall in a markedly nose-up attitude. An attempted stall recovery at about 100 feet agl was followed by the aircraft diving into the ground while rolling left with the engine still running. No radio transmissions were made after the start of the take-off roll.
Wreckage and Impact
The aircraft crashed into a standing crop of oilseed rape within the airfield boundary, approximately 250 metres north-west of the end of Runway 04. The impact track was 108°. The impact attitude was steeply nose-down, with a section of the left wing tip lodged in the earth at an angle of 43°. The nose and cabin were extensively disrupted, while the rear fuselage and empennage were comparatively intact.
Examination revealed that the elevator trim tab, located on the right elevator, was at or very close to the maximum nose-up position. The trim tab actuator, a screwjack connected via cables to the trim wheel on the cockpit centre console, was preserved by compressive forces during impact. The tab position was corroborated by the trim indicator needle and the positions of cable blocks. The flap actuator was extended to approximately 15° of flap, whereas the pilot normally used 10° for take-off; this could have resulted from inaccurate positioning or post-impact electrical short. Both front seats remained attached near the forward limit of travel, and no evidence of seat movement was found.
Loss of Control
The flight path was consistent with a loss of pitch control. An extreme aft centre of gravity (CG) was considered, but calculations showed the aircraft's weight was at least 100 lb below the maximum take-off weight, with the CG in the mid-range. Thus, an aft CG contribution was discounted. The only physical evidence of a pre-impact abnormality was the elevator trim.
The checklist, found open at the BEFORE TAKEOFF and TAKEOFF sections, indicated its use before the accident. Item 10 requires setting elevator and rudder trim for take-off; the correct elevator trim position is indicated by a TAKEOFF mark near neutral. Anecdotal accounts of previous unexplained instances of full nose-up elevator trim during avionic maintenance prompted an investigation of the trim system and its relationship with the autopilot.
Autopilot and Maintenance History
The aircraft was equipped with a factory-fitted Bendix/King KAP 140 two-axis autopilot. In March 2000, the autopilot servos were replaced due to an Airworthiness Directive. The co-owner reported that on at least two occasions during 2000, the aircraft pitched up following autopilot engagement, but the journey log recorded only one such event on 27 August 2000. In January 2001, the aircraft was returned to the manufacturer's UK dealers for warranty work; the pitch excursion issue was investigated but not confirmed, and the pitch trim servo was replaced as a precaution. Post-accident examination found no fault with the removed unit.