A self-styled Biggles pilot who crashed his light aircraft on Caird Park golf course in Dundee had underestimated his fuel needs for the flight, according to a new report published.
Vince Hagedorn made a forced landing in a tree above the 15th hole of the course a year ago today after his engines of his three-year-old CTSW aircraft stopped.
The Essex pilot was praised at the time for avoiding built-up areas, but investigators have now concluded he did not have enough fuel on board for the changing conditions of his flight.
The report published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), found he had estimated a maximum flying time of three hours 20 minutes.
It was more than one hour above the plane manufacturer’s corresponding guidance for average fuel consumption.
Investigators found the wind speed and other conditions meant the actual time of the flight between Barrow and RAF Kinloss would have been two hours 21 minutes-still exceeding the guidance.
“The average fuel consumption assumed by the pilot was insufficient to account for operational realities,” said the report.
Mr Hagedorn, who was 63 at the time, set off alone from Walney Island Airfield in Cumbria, headed for Kinloss, in Moray, considering Dundee airport as an alternative.
Cloud patterns on the flight path forced the pilot who later called them “weird clouds” to use more power climbing and dropping in altitude.
After crossing the Firth of Tay, he saw his right-wing fuel tank was empty and only 10 litres remained in the left tank.
Turning south to Dundee, he said only five litres remained before reporting he had run out of fuel.
The AAIB bulletin continued, “He reported that initially the most favourable landing area appeared to be nearby playing fields but, noticing that these were occupied by children, he turned towards an adjacent golf course.”
“However, the fairways also appeared congested, so the pilot decided to land in a tree.”
Mr Hagedorn was helped out by emergency services and treated for head injuries at the city’s Ninewells Hospital. The plane was destroyed.
The report also said Mr Hagedorn’s flight path had infringed controlled airspace at Edinburgh, although this “did not directly affect the outcome.”
The investigators further found that “there is no record of the pilot holding a valid flight radio telephony operator’s licence at the time of the flight.”
A study of the P&M Aviation craft found no fault with the fuel lines and no evidence of pre-impact engine component failure.
However, tests on the fuel system showed the aircraft design is “not conducive to accurate gauging.”
Sustained changes from flying straight and level can lead to a “significant increase” in unusable fuel quantity, the report found.
The AAIB said the pilot was convinced from the indication of fuel tank contents that he was not about to run out.
The investigators have recommended the manufacturer revises its assessment of usable fuel in the aircraft.
P&M Aviation intends to publish a letter explaining the effects of aircraft attitude and turbulence on fuel feed at low fuel levels.
In his hospital bed after the crash, Mr Hagedorn told The Courier two things helped to save his life his flying instructor’s training and his memory of a Biggles book, where the famous hero crashed in to a tree.
The company director, who had been flying for four years, walked away with just a cut on his head and a few sore ribs after firefighters rescued him from the tree where he “pancaked” his plane.
He was later branded a “danger to himself and others” by fellow fliers who disputed his heroism and questioned his flying skills.
Aviation writer Jim Ferguson said, “Following this accident, numerous rumours were circulating in the Scottish aviation community regarding its circumstances.
“Unusually, most of these seem to have been confirmed, with the aircraft running out of fuel, the pilot appearing not to have been licensed to operate in restricted airspace.
“In addition, he did not appear to have the necessary radio licence.”