Pilot Seriously Injured in Aircraft Crash Following Fuel System Malfunction

An investigation has determined that a pilot sustained severe injuries when his aircraft collided with an embankment during a landing attempt at an airfield in south Wales. The 77-year-old individual crashed the small plane at approximately 09:45 BST on 3 August while attempting to land at Rhigos Airfield, situated near Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf. The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) identified that the 1969-manufactured Jodel aircraft experienced issues with its fuel delivery system. According to the AAIB, the pilot incurred “serious facial and spinal injuries.” The report indicated that the pilot was conducting practice approaches to the airfield; during his second approach, he decreased the throttle and activated the carburettor heat. Soon after the engine ceased operating, he observed that the fuel mixture had been cut, rather than the carburettor heat having been engaged. He subsequently adjusted the mixture back to rich and attempted to restart the engine; however, it operated for merely a few seconds, by which point he was at a low speed and altitude during the final approach. The aircraft subsequently impacted an embankment, which constituted a section of the airfield’s perimeter.