G-BWDF - PZL 104 Wilga 35A - UK Accident 6th May 2010

Today, the 6th May 2010 is General Election day in the UK - people have been voting since 7am this morning.

At about 8am reports came in of a light aircraft plane crash at the airfield at Hinton in the Hedges. On board was Nigel Farage a parliamentary candidate ( for the UKIP party ) and a pilot.

The wreck of Wilga G-BWDF - Photo courtesy Sky News

The crashed aircraft is a PZL 104 Wilga 35A G-BWDF. There are reports that the aircraft was trailing a towing banner promoting the UKIP party and that this might have become caught in the rudder of the aircraft. Both the pilot and Mr Farage have been taken to hospital for treatment. Photos from the accident site show the aircraft inverted with major damage to the cockpit area.

G-BWDF c/n 21950955 is one of the last Wilga to have been built having first flown in July 1995 at the PZL Okecie factory in Warsaw Poland. When it was deliverd in was painted in a two tone green camoflague c/s and was based at White Waltham airfield to the West of London.  For several years it sat parked at White Waltham as the grass grew aound it.

External Link to photo of G-BWDF in its original green colours


By late 1999 it was dismantled and removed from White Waltham by lorry. It underwent a rebuild at Rushett Farm airstrip near Chessington and was back in the air by 2003 ( with just 22 flight hours in total ). In 2004 it was seen at Husbands Bosworth airfield acting as a glider tug.

By 2006 it was operating from the airfield at Dunsfold still painted green but by 2008 it had been repainted dark blue. In recent years the aircraft has been operated by "Sky Banners". The aircraft had flown 239 flight hours by 31.12.2008.

Let's hope the pilot and the passenger make a full recovery.


More info here via the Sky News website news story

More info here via the BBC News website news story


Steve

Fatal Crash - Polish Air Force Tu-154M serial 101 on 10thApril 2010 near Smolensk

On Saturday 10th April 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154M serial 101 crashed during the final approach to the military airfield at Smolensk in Western Russia. The weather conditions at the time were foggy.

The accident killed all 96 people on board including the Polish President Lech Kaczynski.

Tu-154M serial 101 c/n 90A837 was built in 1990 by Tupolev in the then USSR. In the late 1980s the Polish state airline LOT had taken delivery of 13 new build Tu-154M airliners registered as SP-LCA to SP-LCN.

Aircraft 90A837 was origianlly delivered to the Polish Air Force 36 splt ( VIP transport unit ) in Warsaw in the same white/blue colour scheme as the LOT Tu-154M aircraft but with Republic of Poland titles and Polish Air Force roundels and serial as 837.

A second Tu-154M was delivered to the Polish Air Force in 1994 - this aircraft was built in 1990 and was a former LOT aircraft ( ex SP-LCO ) with c/n 90A862. This aircraft was also painted white/blue ( basic ex LOT c/s ) and used the Polish Air Force serial 862.

By the early 1990s both Polish Air Force Tu-154M were re-painted into an attractive white/red colour scheme and the two aircraft were re-serailed as 101 ( c/n 837 ) and 102 ( c/n 862 ).

At the time of the fatal crash of aircraft 101 it was said to have flown 5,004 flight hours and made 1,823 landings.

The second Tu-154M serial 102 is currently believed to be away on overhaul in Russia . 


External Link to Tu-154M c/n 837 with serial 837 in 1994 in white/blue c/s


External Link to Tu-154M c/n 837 with serial 101 in 2008 in white/red c/s

The body of President Lech Kaczynski was flown back to Warsaw, Poland on Sunday 11th April 2010 in Polish Air Force Casa 295M serial 020.

photo of Casa 295M serial 020 arriving at Warsaw 11.4.2010 - by TVP / I Sobieszczuk

Steve

SP-FDO An-26 crash landed in Estonia - 18.3.10

SP-FDO an An-26 cargo plane operated by Exin Airways on behalf of DHL crashed shortly after departing from Tallinn airport in Estonia en route to Helsinki Finland.

The aircraft came down on a snow covered frozen lake near the airport - the six crew on board all managed to escape - the concern is now to remove fuel and contaminates to prevent water pollution.

SP-FDO is c/n 10503 and was built in 1980 - it was registered in Poland as SP-FDO in 1999 having previously been operating in Russia as RA-26031.

SP-FDO crashed onto a frozen lake - photo courtesy of the Estonian Rescue Service

More details on the link below


http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/transport/?doc=24858




http://balticreports.com/?p=13280


Exin Airways


http://www.exin.pl/eng/


Steve