B2/2006L Ultralight aircraft accident in Aska, Sodankylä 10 July 2006

An aircraft accident took place in Aska, Sodankylä, Finland, on 10th of July, 2006 at 14:25 (in Finnish time, GMT+2), where an Ikarus C42-style ultra-light aircraft on pontoons, owned by private parties, was severely damaged and the pilot was killed. Accident Investigation Board Finland, with the resolution B2/2006L initiated an accident investigation as the result of the incident and assigned Markku Koivurova as the investigator-in-charge and Juhani Mäkelä as the committee member.

The pilot had taken off from Kitinen river by the center of Sodakylä (the river is situated in the town of Sodankylä), heading to Aska, with the intent to land by the shore at his friend’s cabin along the same river. The accident took place as the pilot was circling the landing site. When the pilot flew the second lap into the tailwind and began to turn to the left, the plane suddenly rotated around the longitudinal axis and dove vertically into the ground, and was severely damaged. The pilot was killed instantly.

The pilot had a valid pilot’s license, medical clearance, and type rating but he had minimal recent flight experience. The flight weather conditions were good with the exception of the wind. The wind was strong and gusty. The aircraft’s airspeed indicator was noticed sticking during the previous flights. This was apparently resulting from water getting into the pitot-static system.

The immediate cause of the accident is the loss of control of the aircraft in the gusty wind. The pilot's minimal recent flight experience may have contributed to the accident. The sticking of the airspeed indicator cannot be excluded as contributory to the accident.

The investigation committee does not make any safety recommendations.

B2/2006L Report (pdf, 0.38 Mt)