Reims Cessna FA152, G-MPBH, 10 January 2006
Reims Cessna FA152, G-MPBH
Summary:
The purpose of the flight was to carry out a training exercise for practice forced landings without power. The practice was started from 3,000 ft agl and, following the successful identification of a landing area, completion of the touch drills and thereby the exercise; the instructor then took control of the aircraft. He continued to fly down to approximately 20 ft agl in order to demonstrate to the student that a successful landing could indeed have been made from the approach. The instructor then carried out a go-around but as he looked ahead he saw a single line power cable in front of the aircraft. He felt and heard the aircraft strike the cable but found that he still had control available. Unable to land ahead he climbed up to 500 ft agl and, while he checked that there was no untoward vibration or adverse control response, asked the student to inspect the aircraft for damage. The student reported that there was some damage to the fin. The instructor, who was satisfied with the performance of the aircraft, retracted the flaps and proceeded cautiously back to RAF Kinloss, a distance of approximately 10 nm, where the aircraft landed without further incident. An inspection of the aircraft showed that the upper portion of the fin and rudder, including an aerial and the rotating beacon, had been severed by the wire. An inspection of the site showed that the wire had been cut. The instructor commented afterwards that the adjacent telegraph poles, which should have given him an indication that there was a wire ahead, were not visible to him because there were pine trees around them. Since this incident the operator’s flying order book has been amended to the effect that practice forced landings will not be continued below a height of 100 ft agl
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