Two Belgians Perish As Robin DR250 Sheds Wing

Two Belgian tourists died in a crash Monday in County Galway, Ireland. The airplane, an Avions Robin DR 250, lost a wing soon after takeoff and crashed on a cricket pitch less than a mile from Galway airport in Carnmore.

The two middle-aged men died instantly.

The Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) has begun an investigation and is keying on the airplane's wing, which was reported by witnesses to separate in flight, and was reportedly found over 500 meters away from the main wreckage. (At press time, some late reports said that it was only part of the wing, possibly a control surface; and that the pilots appeared to have some control of the plummeting craft).

All other significant parts appear to be accounted for at the main impact point.

Graphic post-impact pictures in the Irish press (which we'll spare you) showed signs of a violent impact with no postcrash fire. The fuel tank had been filled in expectation of a four- to four-and-a-half hour flight home to Belgium.

Aero-News readers are cautioned, as always, that early crash-scene and eyewitness perceptions are often contradicted by the painstaking analysis applied in a thorough mishap investigation, and all information in this report should be considered preliminary and subject to revision.

Luck of the Irish?

Paul Hynes, County Galway Cricket Club Captain, told the Galway Independent that Monday is the one day that there's no match on the cricket pitch. He was nearby, but didn't witness the accident himself. "We were very lucky. We were playing the day before on the field," he said -- at about that same time.

Asked about the damage to the cricket pitch, Hynes was taken aback. His concern was for the victims of the crash and their families; damage to his cricket pitch was "irrelevant." He further promised the sportsmen would, "do something," in memory of the victims. But in true cricket-club fashion: "we'll have to have a meeting to decide what."

The Investigation

It was immediately apparent that the occupants of the aircraft had perished on impact from non-survivable impact forces, so their remains were respectfully covered by the Garda (Irish Police) until AAIU authorized investigators observed and photographed them in situ and allowed them to be removed.

The family members of the unfortunate Belgians were notified, and came to Galway to claim the bodies. The crash victims have not been identified publicly.

The AAIU conducts investigations much like the British AAIB or US NTSB, although it has fewer resources than either (and fortunately fewer accidents to investigate). It will seek assistance from other parties as necessary. All avenues of investigation will be reviewed, so that the unit has a complete picture of the ill-fated flight: weather, crew, airspace and control, and of course, the aircraft.

The responsible Inspector of Air Accidents with the Air Accident Investigation Unit spoke to the Galway Independent newspaper. "The focus of the technical inspection will be to determine the airworthiness of the aircraft and to determine the cause of the failure of the wing," Jurgen Whyte said.

As evidence that the aircraft broke up inflight is significant, the AAIU is examining the aircraft wreckage to determine how and why that happened. The many operators of Jodel and Robin aircraft, all of which share design concepts and construction materials, are watching with some anxiety.

The Aircraft

The Jodel and Robin aircraft (which are all also often called "Jodel" although this isn't 100% accurate) have a very long and involved history, which sometimes confuses even type aficionados. From its roots as a 2-seat homebuilt taildragger airplane, the basic design evolved into a wide range of certified and experimental aircraft.

It is one of the most popular airplanes in Europe, particularly on the Continent. (France especially, as it's not only the national home of the design, but also has liberal rules for homebuilt airplanes, and a very active sport-aviation group, the RSA). About 3,500 each of homebuilt and factory-built, fully-type-certified aircraft have been made, and they have a decent safety record.

The accident aircraft was a factory-built, certified, four-seat tailwheel airplane. Under European rules, it was subject to thorough annual inspections by a licensed aviation mechanic.

Was It The Design, In Wood? Probably Not.

The wing structure in all these designs is made of wood and assembled with glue. Spars are spruce, skin birch plywood, assembled to one another with phenol-resorcinol glue: venerable and extremely well-understood and -tested materials. Aero-News has not discovered any prior history of inflight separation in this type or family of designs.

Wood still flies in the wings of many early Mooneys, hundreds of Bellancas, and many antiques; in the 1940s, even very high performance aircraft like the DeHavilland Vampire and Messerschmitt Me 163 fighters had wooden wings, and even many "all metal" airplanes relied on wood tail and control surfaces.

Not to mention the 7,000 plus Jodel and Robin aircraft that have been flying for many years with no similar accident.  The current manufacturer of Robin aircraft, Apex Aircraft in France, notes on its website (our translation from French) that wood is "a natural composite with unequalled strength to weight characteristics".

In wooden aircraft in general, structural failure is not unknown but can usually be attributed to dry rot, mold or something weakening the structure to much less than design strength. The usual means of combating this kind of failure is regular inspections during maintenance periods: the mechanisms of failure take time to weaken the structure, and so should be readily detectable.

FMI: www.aaiu.ie