CLOSING SPEED VERSUS DEPTH PERCEPTION

Description of events (SACAA) Preliminary Accident Report

- CHARLIE MARAIS

On Monday afternoon, 2 January 2023 a Sling 4 TSi aircraft with registration ZU-PPA took off from Tedderfield Aerodrome (FATA), on board was a pilot accompanied by a passenger. The aircraft was observed descending into Bass Lake when the lower aft fuselage and main wheels contacted the water. The aircraft touched the water a second time and was then observed pitching nose up at an approximate 90° angle to the water surface to avoid impact with a mountainous ridge ahead. The aircraft was observed to climb to a height of approximately 100 feet above the water level when the right wing dropped and the aircraft impacted with the water in a nose down attitude. The wreckage sank to the bottom of the lake. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The flight was conducted under the provisions of Part 94 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 2011.

Findings (SACAA) Par 2.2.3 and 2.2.4

2.2.3 The pilot flew the aircraft in a manner, which endangered the safety of the aircraft, the occupants therein, as well as people and property on the ground. 2.2.4 The pilot did not adhere to the provisions of CAR Part 91.06.32 by flying the aircraft lower than 500 feet over water, which was a hazard to the people on and next to the water as well as property.

Comments by Charlie Marais

As this accident is still under investigation, I will not try and solve the puzzle. Not that it is a complicated puzzle, but on the contrary a very predictable cause and effect sequence. Depth

I have said this before and will dare to bore some of you, but one must be alive to experience life. Even more restrictive is that a pilot must not only be alive, but mentally and bodily fit for flight.