Demonstration

The Nimrod display aircraft and crew had deployed to Canada on 23 August 1995 for displays at Canadian Forces Base Shearwater and the Canadian International Air Show (CIAS) at Toronto. In excellent weather, with a light on-shore wind, the aircraft took off on time for its display. Upon completion of the safety checks, it ran in for the standard Nimrod display sequence which features two orbits and two dumb-bell turns. The latter manoeuvres each involved a turn away from the display line, a climb to not above 1,000 feet, followed by a turn in the opposite direction and descent, to fly back parallel with the display line. Having completed the two orbits, the first dumb-bell turn was completed uneventfully. After a slow flypast with undercarriage down, the aircraft entered its final manoeuvre, the second dumb-bell turn. It was seen to turn away approximately 75° to starboard under full power before the flaps were retracted to 20° and the undercarriage raised. The nose was then pitched up into a climbing attitude of 24°. As the aircraft passed 950 feet, engine power was reduced to almost flight idle, following which the speed reduced rapidly to 122 knots, below the 150 knots recommended and taught for that stage of the display. The aircraft was rolled to 70° of port bank, shortly afterwards reducing to 45°, and the nose lowered to 5° below the horizon. During this turn the airspeed increased slightly and the G-loading increased to 1 .6 G. However, the combination of the low airspeed and the G-loading led the aircraft to stall, whereupon the port wing dropped to 85° of bank and the nose dropped to 18° below the horizon. Full starboard aileron and full engine power were applied in an attempt to recover the aircraft but, by this stage, there was insufficient height to recover and the aircraft hit the water. All seven crew members were killed.

The pilot, sole on board, was taking part to an airshow and completing a demonstration flight when the accident occurred in unknown circumstances. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

The pilot, sole on board, was taking part to an airshow at Aichach Airport. On final approach, the aircraft was too low when it struck an embankment located short of runway threshold. On impact, both main landing gears were torn off and the aircraft landed on its belly and came to rest. The pilot escaped uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The accident flight was the final one of a series of sales demonstration flights. The demonstration pilot occupied the right seat and a potential customer was handling the aircraft from the left seat. The handling pilot was qualified and current on helicopters but had only 100 hours of fixed wing flying experience and had not flown a fixed wing aircraft as-pilot-in-command for some eight years; he controlled the aircraft throughout the flight, under the instruction of the demonstration pilot. After some general handling, including turns and a demonstration of the final approach configuration, F-GLBD returned to the local circuit. The first approach to runway 20 was slightly steep and the landing was firm but satisfactory. During the ground roll the demonstration pilot reconfigured the aircraft and the handling pilot applied power and made a take-off for another circuit. The second approach which was for a final landing was initially stable and on the glideslope. However, on short finals the aircraft went below the glideslope and the nose attitude was too high. There was a crosswind from the right and F-GLBD was on the left of the extended centerline. The demonstration pilot put his left hand on the power lever below that of the handling pilot and, as he did so, told the handling pilot to increase power. When no power was apparent the demonstration pilot repeated his instruction and also applied pressure to the power lever. As the aircraft approached the flare the handling pilot released the power lever and put both hands on the control wheel; the power lever moved quickly to the fully open position under the hand pressure of the demonstration pilot. The aircraft rolled rapidly to approximately 20° to 30° angle of bank to the left and the demonstration pilot took control with both hands on the control wheel. However, the left wing tip and the outboard trailing edge of the left flap struck the ground; the wing tip impact mark was off the runway to the left and the flap impact mark was just on the runway. The left main wheel then made contact with the runway, closely followed by the right main wheel. As the aircraft left the runway at an angle of approximately 230° to the left, the demonstration pilot closed the power lever, the aircraft continued across the grass for a distance of approximately 350 metres. It passed through and destroyed part of the PAPI installation, crossed runway 30 and came to a stop. At the time of the accident, it was dark and the weather was good; the surface wind was 230°/5 knots. All six occupants escaped uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The crew was taking part to the Aviation Day and was involved in a demonstration mission on behalf of the 2nd Regional Air Command. On approach, the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in the garden of a military hospital located about 2 km from the airport. All five occupants were killed.

The pilot, sole on board, departed Biggleswade bound for Audley End to take part to an airshow. On completion of the fourth turn, which was wider than previous turns, the aircraft rolled out on a westerly heading and rpm on both fixed-pitch propellers was reduced to around idle. The aircraft decelerated in straight and level flight with the flaps lowered and in a progressively more nose-up attitude. At low airspeed, mid-way along the display axis, the aircraft rolled to starboard and entered a spin to the right from a height of between 400 and 500 feet. It crashed approximately 300 metres north of the display axis and behind a line of trees which obscured spectator's view of the impact. The pilot was killed.

The airplane was observed making several low passes, with its smoke generators operating, over seaplanes anchored in a lake. The last pass was reportedly at an altitude less than 50 feet, and then the airplane was observed entering an abnormally steep climb, followed by a near vertical nose-down attitude to impact. A video tape shows that both propellers were turning. The pilot had received his multi-engine rating in a Beech 76 on 3/6/90, and his type rating in the airplane 3/28/90.

The crew was taking part to an airshow at Crows Landing-Aux Field AFB and practicing touch-and-go. For unknown reasons, the aircraft landed hard, went out of control and came to rest, bursting into flames. All four crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed.

The pilot was flying the twin engine airplane in the traffic pattern for a fly-by event at an air show. Two fly-by circuits had been completed, and the airplane was on the third downwind leg at an estimated altitude of 600 to 800 feet agl when the right engine lost power. The main landing gear had been previously extended, and the pilot elected not to retract the landing gear in anticipation of landing on the runway. The pilot reported that he performed emergency procedures by pushing the throttles forward and attempting to restart the right engine. The right engine did not restart, and the airplane collided with terrain short of the runway. The pilot did not claim to have feathered the inoperative right engine's propellers. Postaccident inspection of the right engine revealed no evidence of preimpact anomaly. The right engine's magnetos and carburetor were damaged and not functionally tested. The propeller of the right engine was found in an unfeathered, fine pitch position. All five occupants were injured, four seriously.

The aircraft and its crew were taking part to a green event in a natural reserve located by Anguillara Sabazia. The pilot made a first low pass over the ecologists then completed a second pass at a height of about 15 meters according to eyewitnesses. While preparing for a third pass, the pilot lost control of the airplane that crashed in the Lake of Bracciano. Both occupants were killed.