Plane crashed after pilot blinded by thick smoke from broken exhaust
AN AIRCRAFT which filled with thick and blinding smoke after an exhaust pipe fractured as it travelled from Guernsey Airport crashed soon after into a greenhouse, an investigation report has revealed.
The Air Accident Investigation Branch report into the crash, which pilot John Shaw labelled a 'miraculous escape' in June, said the Socata TB10 Tobago aircraft had climbed to about 1,500ft when smoke blinded visibility.
Mr Shaw's wife, Lynda, who was a passenger, injured her back in the crash and was airlifted to hospital.
The report said that after the sudden ingress of large quantities of smoke into the cabin from the pilot's footwell, Mr Shaw immediately turned back to the airport and declared an emergency to Guernsey air traffic control.
'As he rolled out of the turn, the smoke was restricting his vision but he was confident that the airport was ahead,' he said.
'However, the smoke became very thick and choking and the pilot suspected that he had an uncontrollable engine fire, so shut the engine down using only the ignition keys, which he located by feel.
'By now he was concerned about becoming asphyxiated by the smoke, but was reluctant to open the "gull wing" doors believing that they could cause seriously disturbed airflow and consequently handling problems.'
