Pilots die attempting a barrel roll in a Cessna 550B Citation Bravo

by B. N. Sullivan

Last month I wrote about a Cessna 550B Citation Bravo (registration OK-ACH) that crashed in Germany. The aircraft, operating as Time Air Flight TIE039C, was en route from Prague to Karlstad, Sweden at the time of the accident. Both crew members on board were killed.

A reader has passed along a link to a press release about the accident investigation from the Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung (BFU), i.e., the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation. Apparently the accident followed an aerobatic maneuver -- specifically, a barrel roll -- from which the aircraft did not recover.

Here is the full text of the BFU press resease:

Air accident on 14 February 2010 near Reinhardtsdorf-Schöna (Saxony)

The twin-jet Cessna 550 B, departed Prague (Czech Republic) at 20:08 hrs (MEZ), for a ferry flight to Karlstad, Sweden. Aboard were two crew members. At 20:19 hrs, the aircraft's radar signal vanished from the monitors of the Air Traffic Service Provider. The crash site was found during the night close to the village Reinhardtsdorf-Schöna in the area of the mountain Großen Zschirnstein, Saxony.

In the following few days rescue work was under way during which the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) were recovered. Analysis of the Cockpit Voice Recorder showed evidence that shortly before the crash an aerobatics manoeuvre (barrel roll) was initiated.

The aircraft was neither designed nor approved for such manoeuvres.

The BFU issued the following Safety Recommendations:

Recommendation No.: 10/2010

The CAA-CZ responsible for air operators within the Czech Republic should arrange for an inspection of the involved air operator's aircraft in regard to structural overload.

Recommendation No.: 11/2010

The CAA-CZ should determine actions for the improvement of the air operator's Quality Management System and the Safety Culture

The investigation into the accident by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) is still in progress.

This sad tale reminded me of that old saying, “There are old pilots and there are bold pilots -- but there are no old, bold pilots.”

Two pilots perish in Cessna Citation crash in Germany

by B. N. Sullivan

On the evening of February 14, 2010, a Cessna 550B Citation Bravo (registration OK-ACH) crashed in Germany, not far from the Czech border. The aircraft was destroyed; the two pilots, who are believed to have been the only people on board, were killed.

The aircraft, operating as Time Air Flight TIE039C, was en route to Karlstad, Sweden (KSD/ESOK) from Prague (PRG/LKPR), and had just entered German airspace at the time of the accident. According to a preliminary accident description on the Aviation Safety Network, a German air traffic control spokesman reported that the flight was given clearance to climb from FL260 to FL330. The pilot never replied, and the plane then disappeared from radar screens at about 8:20 PM local time.

News reports say that wreckage from the accident aircraft was found in an area of mountainous terrain in Saxony, southeast of Dresden, Germany. UPI.com quoted German officials who said they a body, believed to be that of one of the pilots, was discovered at the crash site. Also found were identification papers for two men, one a Czech, the other a Slovak, although authorities were not certain that the papers belonged to the pilots.

Condolences to the families and friends of the two pilots who lost their lives.