UK: AAIB report on plane crash on railway

[John Ashworth]

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch report on a light aircraft that crashed on the West Coast Main Line in January 2009 is available here

Summary:

The aircraft was seen carrying out a manoeuvre described by witnesses as similar to a wingover or stall turn. During the manoeuvre it entered a steep nose-down descent from which it did not recover and which resulted in a high-speed impact on a railway line. The accident was not survivable. The pilot's medical and licence validity had expired a number of years previously. The aircraft maintenance records were incomplete and did not show that the required maintenance had been correctly performed. There was, however, no evidence of any mechanical defect causing, or contributing to, the accident.