What happened
On 18 February 2001, a Rans S6-ESD, registration G-MYNH, departed Oldbury-on-Severn for a short solo pleasure flight. The weather at the time of departure was generally sunny with light winds. During the initial climb and subsequent turn to the north, the pilot observed a fog bank forming over the nearby river. Within ten minutes, this fog had moved inland, covering the airfield's western runway threshold.
As the pilot returned to the airfield, the fog appeared to be roughly 100 feet deep. While the runway strip remained visible during the downwind and base legs of the circuit, the pilot lost sight of the runway threshold once the aircraft descended to approximately 50 feet, about 300 meters from the threshold. In an attempt to maintain altitude, the pilot increased power while focusing on the ground. During this period, the pilot lost all heading references. The aircraft drifted left and the right wing struck guy wires supporting an 11 kV power pole. Following the impact, the aircraft rotated 90 degrees to the right and struck the ground in a nose-down, right-wing-low attitude. There were no injuries to the pilot.
The investigation
The investigation examined the rapid change in meteorological conditions and the pilot's flight path. It was established that while vertical visibility through the fog bank remained relatively high, the horizontal visibility dropped significantly upon entering the fog. The investigation confirmed that the aircraft struck wires attached to a pole located 35 meters left of the extended centerline, approximately 40 meters before the runway threshold.