A pilot's failure to achieve adequate air speed for take-off was the cause of an aircraft crash at a Limerick stud farm in which an 85-year-old man was fatally injured, according to an official report published yesterday.
It described how the Beechcraft aircraft stalled after leaving the ground and struck a solid hedgerow before crashing into an open field adjacent to the airstrip at Ballyneale Stud, near Ballingarry.
An Englishman, Mr Godfrey Bush, who was one of two passengers on the aircraft, died in hospital as a result of his injuries nine days after the crash in August 2002. The other passenger, his wife Mavis, sustained a fractured spine and head and neck injuries.
Their son-in-law, Mr David Pearl, owned the aircraft and had stood by with a number of others to watch the take-off. The couple had been due to fly to Gloucester in England.
The report was published by the air accident investigation unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport.
It described how several witnesses, including the owner of the stud, Mr Pearl, ran to the assistance of the aircraft's occupants after watching it crash.
The 27-year-old male pilot, who suffered back injuries including two cracked vertebrae, had flown the aircraft from Leeds earlier the same day.
He showed the aircraft to Mr Pearl, who had recently purchased it but had not seen it before. Witnesses differed as to how high the aircraft climbed before stalling, but some described how it "struggled to get airborne and to climb away".
As the pilot attempted to gain altitude, a stall warning sounded in the cockpit and the "aircraft started to sink, in a high nose-up attitude", said the report.
It struck the hedgerow, which consisted of an earth bank encased in a two-metre high hedge, and hit the ground nose down in the next field.
The emergency services were notified and the three occupants of the craft were taken to Limerick Regional Hospital.
Limerick County Council informed the investigation team that planning permission was required for the airstrip but had not been sought. The owner said he had been advised that permission was not required.
Had permission been sought, the council would have notified the Irish Aviation Authority, which could have advised the owner on aspects of the airstrip, the report said.
However, this was not a factor in the accident. It found the cause was the pilot's failure to achieve adequate air speed and that there was no mechanical failure.
The report also recommended a strengthening of international regulations governing the use of aircraft for corporate purposes.
Under current regulations, the operation of such aircraft is required to be conducted only in accordance with the rules for private category aircraft.
