Aviation accident Pilot error leads to plane crash in Buttwil AG

A Cessna 172 small aircraft carrying four people crashed at Buttwil AG airfield in June 2023 shortly after take-off. The federal investigation cites an error by the 28-year-old pilot as the cause of the stall while still over the grass runway and the crash.

The small aircraft was in a stalled flight condition shortly after take-off on Saturday afternoon, June 17, as the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (Sust) writes in its report published on Wednesday.

This could have been perceived visually from the longitudinal pitch angle of the aircraft and also acoustically from the stall warning and could have been ended simply by easing the elevator control, the report continues.

However, the pilot failed to react in this way - until the aircraft stalled over the left wing. Both achieving an adequate attitude and speed after take-off and recognizing and terminating an excessive flight condition are basic pilot skills.

Limited perception of the pilot

It is therefore obvious that the pilot's lack of reaction was due to a limitation of his perception. The iPad attached to the instrument panel may have restricted his vision. The pilot had also not heard the acoustic warning due to the noise suppression on his headset.

"His very limited flight experience on the accident pattern made it even more difficult for the pilot to recognize deviations from normal operating conditions," the Sust experts write in the report.

There were no injuries in the crash. The pilot and the three passengers left the small aircraft on their own. However, the aircraft was severely damaged.