Gavina

Partenavia P.68

The airplane, a Vulcan Air PA68 Observer 2, registration EC-IPG, had taken off from Sabadell airport to conduct a local flight. Onboard were the instructor and a pilot who was being tested for a CRI (SPA) (Class Rating Instructor). As they were flying over the town of Sant Pere de Vilamajor (Barcelona), the aircraft plunged to the ground, falling within the property limit of a private dwelling (a chalet). Several eyewitnesses reported that they stopped hearing the engine noise and that they then saw the airplane spinning in a nose down attitude. The front part of the airplane (cockpit) impacted the ground first. The crash resulted in a fire, the flames from which reached a part of the aircraft and an arbor next to the house, but not the house itself, though it was affected by the smoke. The two occupants perished immediately and were trapped inside the airplane. They were extracted by emergency personnel. The aircraft was destroyed by the impact and subsequent fire. The post-accident inspection did not reveal any signs of a fault or malfunction of any aircraft component. It has been determined that the accident resulted from a stall caused by flying the aircraft at a low speed. It has also been concluded that there were three contributing factors: the low altitude, the very likely possibility that the crew did not establish guidelines for action prior to the flight and the absence of an authority gradient between the crew members.

Piper PA-46 (Malibu/Meridian/Mirage/Matrix/M-Class)

The single engine airplane departed Palma de Mallorca-Son Bonet Airport at 1146LT on a flight to Sabadell with two passengers and one pilot on board. After takeoff, the pilot was instructed by ATC to proceed to the north. Seven minutes after its departure, while flying in reduced visibility due to rain falls, the aircraft struck a rocky wall located on Mt Mola de Montserra (600 metres high) located near the village of Bunyola, about 20 km north of the airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all three occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the ceiling was at 5,000 feet with a visibility of 8 km and rain. The mountain was shrouded in cloud and thick fog.