INVESTIGATIONS into the wingwalker plane crash during this year’s Bournemouth Air Festival have been ramped up after the collection of initial evidence.
Both pilot David Barrell and wingwalker Kirsten Pobjoy escaped from the AeroSuperBatics plane with minor injuries after a “successful ditching” in Poole Harbour on Saturday, September 4.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) confirmed to the Daily Echo that it had upgraded its enquiries from a correspondence investigation to a field investigation.
The former would have seen a report published within a matter of months. However, the change in investigation type means it could be up to a year after the incident before the AAIB shares its findings.
- PICTURED: Wingwalker plane recovered from the water at Sandbanks
- Read more: Hero pilot 'deserves a medal' says family who pulled wingwalkers to safety
A spokeswoman for the AAIB said: “Initial evidence collected determined this accident warranted additional investigation and it has since been upgraded from a correspondence investigation to a field investigation.”
Aerosuperbatics, which is based at Rendcomb Airfield in Cirencester, said the plane was ditched in the water near Sandbanks during a Bournemouth Air Festival Display following “technical difficulties”.
- Read more: Police statement Air Festival plane crash in the water near Sandbanks
- Read more: “Miracle no-one was hurt” after wingwalker plane crashes at Sandbanks
Air festival displays were suspended for the rest of the day but resumed on the Sunday.
Following the crash, AeroSuperBatics issued a statement which said: “On Saturday, September 4, one of our aircraft suffered technical difficulties during an air display at Bournemouth Air Festival.
“Unfortunately, the aircraft was unable to maintain altitude and despite very difficult circumstances, a successful ditching was carried out into Poole Harbour. Both pilot (David Barrell) and wingwalker (Kirsten Pobjoy) sustained minor injuries, received medical treatment in Poole Hospital and were released shortly thereafter.”
The AAIB’s field investigations involve a small team of inspectors selected from the organisation's four main disciplines (operations, engineering, recorded data and human factors) going to the incident site or to the location of the aircraft following a serious incident.
Inspectors will gather physical evidence from the plane as well as details on training records, flight plans, aircraft logs or maintenance records during the site phase.
In light aircraft accidents, electronic devices such as smart phones, tablets and GPS units are taken by inspectors as they may provide helpful information about what happened. More detailed enquiries will follow, typically from the AAIB base at Farnborough.
Once the evidence has been analysed, conclusions have been drawn and safety recommendations have been made, a draft report goes through internal reviews with the AAIB and consultations before it is published.
A spokesperson for Aerosuperbatics said: "With regard to the incident at the Bournemouth Air Festival, we are cooperating fully the Civil Aviation Authority and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch. The investigation into the technical failure suffered by one of our aircraft is ongoing, so we are not in a position to comment any further until that process has reached its conclusion when the facts are fully established.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel