Cotswold plane crash caused by 'confusion' over controls

A plane crash that hospitalised two people was caused by a botched handover of control from student to instructor, inspectors have said.

The aircraft came off the runway at Cotswold Airport in August 2022.

It passed thorough the airport fence, crossed a road and came to a stop in a ditch.

The crash was caused by confusion between student and instructor about who was in control, the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

Neither the instructor nor student suffered serious injuries in the incident on 4 August at the airport in Kemble, but the Piper PA-28-140 was deemed beyond repair.

The student was undergoing "circuit training" to develop his take off and landing skills at the airfield, which sits on the border of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

It involves approaching the runway and touching down before applying power to immediately take off again.

CCTV showed the aircraft touching down near the start of the runway then turning sharply left as it became airborne again, the AAIB's report said.

It only climbed to approximately 20ft (6.1m) above ground level then descended as it approached a row of parked airliners close to the southern edge of the airfield.

The Piper struck the nose and landing gear of an Airbus A319, severing a section of its right wing, before crashing through the perimeter fence.

It did not encounter any cars when it crossed the A429, but struck a row of fir trees before coming to rest in a ditch next to the road.

According to the AAIB, the instructor told investigators he had taken control of the aircraft when he realised the student had mishandled the manoeuvre, announcing "I have control".

He realised his student was still making control inputs when he felt the aircraft pitching up more than expected and rolling left.

The instructor did not recall his student responding "you have control" or himself repeating the "I have control" instruction, which is considered best practice.

But he said he used "explicit language" to get the student to relinquish control.

The AAIB's report concluded: "A (training exercise) was mishandled as a result of a confused handover of control between student and instructor.

"The go-around actions were not effectively instigated, and the aircraft diverged from the runway at low height and speed."

It said the aircraft had "insufficient performance" to climb away.

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