Date & Time:
May 5, 2001 at 1631 LT
Type of aircraft:
Piper PA-42 Cheyenne
Operator:
Max Schaldach
Registration:
D-IMAY
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Private
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Nuremberg – Zurich
MSN:
42-5527024
YOM:
1985
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The twin engine aircraft departed Nuremberg Airport runway 10 at 1628LT on a private flight to Zurich. During initial climb, at a height of 2,000 feet, the pilot was cleared to climb to 13,000 feet at his discretion. While climbing to a height of 4,500 feet, the aircraft stalled but quickly climbed again to 4,700 feet. Suddenly, control was lost and the aircraft entered a dive before crashing in a wooded area located along the motorway A3. The accident occurred three minutes after takeoff and the wreckage was found about 3,5 km east of the airport. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot, sole on board, was killed. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were good with a 10 km visibility and a wind from 010 at 10 knots.
Probable cause:
No technical anomalies were found on the aircraft, the instruments and the engines. The aircraft' speed increased to 280 knots during the dive. The assumption that the pilot suffered a heart attack was not ruled out.
