What happened
During a morning flight originating from Kiel-Holtenau Airport, a single-engine aircraft was traveling toward Rotenburg, Lower Saxony. The flight plan involved picking up two more passengers in Rotenburg before proceeding to Friedrichshafen for the Aero 2013 Airshow. The aircraft was carrying two pilots and two passengers at the time of the accident.
As the crew attempted an approach to Rotenburg-Wümme Airport, they encountered challenging meteorological conditions. The weather was characterized by a low cloud base of 500 feet and visibility that was restricted to approximately 2 km. During the final approach phase, the aircraft struck the ground and settled in an open field, where a post-crash fire broke out.
Search efforts located the wreckage 2.3 km before the threshold of runway 08, positioned 570 meters to the left of the extended centerline. The impact and subsequent fire resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft. There were four fatalities among the occupants.
Findings
- The aircraft was operating in poor visibility and low cloud ceilings during the approach.
- The wreckage was found significantly offset from the runway centerline and short of the runway threshold.