Breighton crash: Pilot, 66, killed after seat moved on take-off

A pilot died in a plane crash after he lost control of the aircraft when his seat moved during take-off, an investigation has found.

The man, aged 66, got into difficulty as he left Breighton airfield, in East Yorkshire, on 14 November.

Eyewitnesses described seeing the plane climb steeply before plunging to the ground and bursting into flames.

Investigators concluded the seat movement "caused a loss of control with catastrophic consequences".

According to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report the pilot had been intending to fly his single engine Escapade from Breighton to Rufforth after attending a Remembrance Day service.

After take-off eyewitnesses reported the aircraft climbing at an "uncharacteristically steep angle", with the pilot using the radio to warn the airfield he had a problem with the seat and would come back to land.

The AAIB report said it reached a height of about 55m (180ft) before descending rapidly and crashing on the runway. It said the plane caught fire on impact but the blaze was quickly extinguished.

The report found the pilot had his seat fully forward but a spring-loaded seat pin was "not correctly located in a hole in the adjustment rail".

A strap intended to prevent the seat moving backwards in the event of pin failure "appears not to have been tightened", it added.

The report concluded that "the inadvertent seat movement appears to have caused a loss of control with catastrophic consequences."

The AAIB urged owners of similar aircraft to ensure seat pins are secured and to correctly set the backup strap before flying.

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