What happened
On the morning of the accident, a single-engine aircraft departed from Kiel-Holtenau Airport. The flight was scheduled to stop at Rotenburg, Lower Saxony, to pick up two additional passengers before proceeding to Friedrichshafen for participation in the Aero 2013 Airshow. At the time of departure, the aircraft was carrying two pilots and two passengers.
As the crew prepared for arrival at Rotenburg-Wümme Airport, they encountered deteriorating meteorological conditions. The cloud base had descended to 500 feet, and visibility 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 erupted.
The wreckage of the single-engine aircraft was located 2.3 km before reaching runway 08 and 570 meters left of the extended centerline. The intensity of the fire resulted in the total destruction of the airframe. There were four fatalities among the occupants, with no survivors reported.
Findings
Investigations into the crash identified that the crew attempted to maintain a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) approach despite the presence of inadequate weather conditions. This decision led to a lack of sufficient situational awareness regarding their altitude and position. Ultimately, the failure to cancel the descent in time prevented the crew from recognizing the impending ground impact.