Pilots who died in 2019 Kildare plane crash may have been disorientated by spiral dive, says report

Two pilots who died after their plane crashed in Co Kildare three years ago may have become disorientated when their plane took a spiral dive towards the ground, which could have compromised their ability to recover the aircraft, a report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) states.

The incident, which occurred on June 13th, 2019, just after 6pm, claimed the lives of airmen Aidan Rowsome (58) and James Price (70).

The AAIU report, published on Friday, found the probable cause of the crash was that the aircraft entered a flat spin following a departure from controlled flight during an attempted stall recovery.

The report also found that the pilot operating handbook for their aircraft contained incorrect information.

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Mr Rowsome was originally from Stillorgan in Dublin but lived in Kildare. He was the vice-president for Europe, Middle East and Africa operations for the US firm SmartDrive Systems.

Mr Price was a former Aer Lingus employee from Ballinteer in Dublin.

The aircraft was a Bristell NG5 Speedwing, which was manufactured in 2019. It took off from Kilrush Airfield in Kildare with the two pilots on board.

The aircraft was purchased from the UK by a syndicate of three pilots, and the purpose of the flight was to familiarise Mr Rowsome with the plane, according to the AAIU report.

The report found that the left seat pilot, Mr Rowsome, was licensed to carry out the flight, and he was accompanied by an experienced and licensed pilot instructor, Mr Price, who was seated in the right seat of the aircraft.

Two stall exercises were carried out during the flight. During the attempted recovery from the second stall, the aircraft rolled 180 degrees and began a rapid descent. The plane entered a spiral dive and then went into a flat spin.

The aircraft hit the ground in a grassy field in Belan, Co Kildare, about 5.2 nautical miles south of the airfield it took off from.

Neither pilots were found with alcohol, drugs or carbon monoxide in their system. Both died due to traumatic head injuries and were found in the cockpit.

According to their autopsy reports, the nature of their injuries suggested that the left-seat pilot, Mr Rowsome, was not strapped into the aircraft at the time of impact, but the right-seat pilot, Mr Price, was.

The report said Mr Rowsome probably undid his harness towards the end of the descent, to try to restart the engine or to move the aircraft’s centre of gravity forward.

The report noted that because flight control inputs were not recorded, it was impossible to determine which pilot was handling the aircraft at any stage of the flight.

However, the investigation found that there was nothing to suggest unapproved manoeuvres were being deliberately performed, and the data indicated an unexpected upset followed by attempts to recover the aircraft.

The report stated the pilots may have become disorientated during the spiral dive, which could have compromised their abilities.

The aircraft had recently undergone an annual maintenance inspection and no mechanical issues were found.

However, the pilot operating handbook for NG4 and NG5 aircraft stated that the moment arm for people seated in the aircraft was 600mm aft of datum, which the AAIU investigation deemed incorrect.

As a result, weight and balance calculations carried out using this information would have given an incorrect centre of gravity position for the aircraft, according to the AAIU.

The investigation determined that the actual moment arm for the pilots seated in the accident’s aircraft was 768mm aft of datum, which made the aircraft more susceptible to enter into a flat spin and recovery more difficult.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit’s safety investigation reports do not apportion blame or liability, and their sole objective is to prevent accidents and incidents.