Tuesday, August 11, 2015

1 pilot killed after a Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub hit power lines as it was chasing birds from vineyards in Austria









AUGUST 10, 2015

"Starfighter" crash: pilot dead

In the District of Neusiedl am see, Monday morning has crashed a small aircraft. The pilot, A. R. Wiener, came to life.  The aircraft should have been crashed in a power line.

The crash occurred about 6:30 between Gols and podersdorf am see. It's a plane with the starlings are driven out of the vineyards. They are called "Starfighter". The pilot died in the crash killed, said Patrick Paul of the Burgenland State Security Agency (LEF).

Aircraft fell into power lines

According to fire brigade, the machine ran into a power line. The top cable was severed while, the electricity had been cut off, so the Commander of the fire brigade in podersdorf am see, Florian Ettl. The plane caught fire on impact. At the meeting of the fire brigade, the Piper PA 18 was already burned mostly. The emergency services extinguished the burning wreck. The fire brigade of podersdorf am See was with four vehicles and 25 men in action. First was been alerted the fire brigade of Illmitz.

Eyewitness could no longer help

Josef Tschida from Illmitz became an eyewitness to the crash. He was one of the first on the scene, could no longer help the pilots in the burning machine. In the "Burgenland today" interview with Christian Hofmann he described the dramatic scenes on Monday afternoon.

An experienced pilot

The Wiener was an experienced pilot. He was a flight instructor and for twenty years at the company, which is responsible for combating star from the air. According to the National Police Directorate flew missions to combat the stare of Vienna for ten years in the Seewinkel and knew the area well. It is believed that the pilot didn't see the power lines due to the low sun.

Exceptional approval required to be a "Starfighter" (bird-chaser)

The crashed "Starfighter" was on the road in uncontrolled airspace. There is an air space in the aircraft is not maintained by an air traffic. For flights to the star defense, where pilots are on the move, sometimes at low altitude, derogation is required according to the Austrian air traffic control of Austro Control. You may be performed only by specially trained pilots in machines have been specially approved for.

Again and again, accidents with "Star fighters"
In the past few decades, several "Starfighter" crashed in Burgenland. Two years ago, had a light aircraft scratched a tree and went down in a field. The pilot was injured in the incident - more crashed "Starfighter" and ' Star fighter ' flies again. Also fatalities were already. As a Piper 18 in podersdorf am see in a vineyard crashed in October 1990, the pilot came to life. In some other cases, crashes while ended with damage, but without or with light injuries for the pilot.

Date:
11-AUG-2015
Time:
15:05 LT
Type:
Owner/operator:
Land- und Forstflug GmbH
Registration:
OE-AND
C/n / msn:
18-1582
Fatalities:
Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:
0
Airplane damage:
Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:
Weiden am See - http://aviation-safety.net/database/country/flags_15/OE.gif  Austria
Phase:
Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:
Agricultural
Departure airport:
Leoboldsdorf Airfield
Destination airport:
Leoboldsdorf Airfield
Narrative:
The aircraft crashed at Weiden am See during "starfighter"-operations (scaring birds from away vineyards). The sole pilot oboard the aircraft was killed.
Sources:
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=178521 http://burgenland.orf.at/news/stories/2725967/