Cessna 150M, N8174V, 19 May 2005
Cessna 150M, N8174V
Summary:
The aircraft was undertaking a ferry flight from the USA to Europe and on this leg of the flight had departed Inverness Airport for Newcastle. Due to time constraints, the pilot decided to fly direct to Newcastle, rather than follow the coastline. Having initially set course to the south in VMC, the weather deteriorated, with heavier than forecast rain and reduced visibility. The pilot levelled the aircraft at 3,300 feet amsl, the feezing level, but this was below the Minimum Safe Altitude for the area. The highest obstacle indicated on the 1:500,000 CAA VFR topographical chart for the region is 4,100 feet amsl. Now in cloud and using a GPS receiver to navigate, the aircraft suddenly developed a high rate of descent which the application of full power failed to arrest. The aircraft struck the terrain at an estimated ground speed of 65 to 70 kt. The pilot was able to extricate himself from the wreckage and used his mobile telephone to call his family in Austria. They alerted the Austrian rescue services who in turn contacted ARCC at Kinloss. The pilot later stated that with his experience of flying in the Alps, he did not consider that the Scottish mountains would cause him any problems.
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