Sky West Aviation

Piper PA-31-310 Navajo

Approximately 20 minutes after takeoff from a private airstrip in Cheshire the pilot reported pitch control problems and stated his intention to divert to Caernarfon Airport. Approximately 5 minutes later, the aircraft struck Runway 25 at Caernarfon Airport, with landing gear and flaps retracted, at high speed, and with no noticeable flare manoeuvre. The aircraft was destroyed. The elevator trim was found in a significantly nose-down position, and whilst the reason for this could not be determined, it is likely it would have caused the pilot considerable difficulty in maintaining control of the aircraft. The extensive fire damage to the wreckage and the limited recorded information made it difficult to determine the cause of this accident with a high level of confidence. A possible scenario is a trim runaway, and both the CAA and the EASA are taking safety action to promote awareness for trim runaways as a result of this accident.

Socata TBM-700

The single engine aircraft departed Yao Airport at 1157LT on a leisure flight to Fukushima, carrying one passenger and one pilot. Few minutes later, the pilot reported an unexpected situation to ATC and was cleared to return to Yao. At an altitude of 17,200 feet and a speed of 150 knots, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent, partially disintegrated in the air and eventually crashed in a hilly and wooded terrain near the village of Yamazoe, bursting into flames. Both occupants were killed.