Pilot walks from crash after engine fails over Tory island

A pilot flying a microlight aircraft crash-landed on Tory island in Co Donegal, and then walked away and failed to immediately report the accident to the Air Accident Investigation Unit.

That is according to the latest report of the unit, which is under the auspices of the Department of Transport. The unit first became aware of the crash when contacted by a local journalist.

The report notes that while on a private flight from Finn Valley Airfield, Co Donegal, on May 9th, the microlight aircraft climbed to 4,000ft as it crossed Tory Sound while travelling towards the island. While over the island, it descended towards a lighthouse on the western side and completed several orbits over that part of the island at about 1,200ft.

The microlight had flown for about 40 minutes at this stage. The pilot later told investigators that a few minutes before the engine cut out, he had checked the fuel gauge and that it was reading “nearly full”. He also said that he made three attempts to restart the engine using its pull cord, without success.

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Attempted landing

Noting that the general terrain was rough and consisted largely of rocky outcrops, he elected to attempt a landing on a road leading to the lighthouse.

However, he was unable to lose sufficient height to land on the road and he put the microlight down in rough terrain. The microlight sustained substantial damage, but the pilot was able to exit unaided. There was no post-impact fire.

Investigators became aware of the accident following a telephone call from a local journalist on the day after the accident. Later that day, a call was also received from the pilot – to report the accident and to advise that the wreckage had been moved to Finn Valley Airfield. Two Inspectors of Air Accidents inspected the aircraft wreckage at Finn Valley Airfield on May 12th, 2016.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit issued a number of recommendations regarding inspections of fuel tanks and the use of unleaded petrol.

Specifically, the authority said the Irish Aviation Authority should revise its Safety Leaflet and Aeronautical Notice relating to the use of unleaded petrol in aircraft to specifically highlight the potential for unleaded fuel to cause degradation of composite fuel tanks and/or their internal coating materials.