PA28 ditched in English Channel from LeTouquet, the search continue…
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/mystery-plane-crash-english-channel-193623983.html
Heard that the aircraft departed Wellesbourne, the flight history and track for this plane matches. Also a helicopter searching that area of the channel as I type.
https://uk.flightaware.com/live/flight/GEGVA/history/20220402/0754Z/EGBW/L%2050.58543%201.08009
HMGC SAR from Lydd are still looking as of now
The flightaware data suggests this wasn‘t an engine problem and subsequent glide to the sea, bit rather some sort of loss of control. Anyway, not ideal to be crossing the channel (not at all at its most narrow spot) at 1500 feet. I assume he was VFR only. Still, looks like the weather was good and would have allowed to fly higher.
Not sure where the 1500ft has come from. Looks like most of the trip was at 4700/4800ft. Some strange manoeuvres mid channel which could just be bad data, with the track data ending with a climb to 7200ft at an airspeed consistent with cruise climb. All very odd.
boscomantico wrote:
The flightaware data suggests this wasn‘t an engine problem and subsequent glide to the sea, bit rather some sort of loss of control. Anyway, not ideal to be crossing the channel (not at all at its most narrow spot) at 1500 feet.
@boscomantico, default ALT units for Flightaware is meters, please check…
Correct. That makes more sense.
Might be relevant or not, but I was driving around Calais / Dunkirk during this time and the weather was miserable, Ground temp was at 2.5C with freezing rain. When we made it across the euro-tunnel we learned that they had cancelled some ferries due to the bad weather.
There are prohibited areas in the Channel SFC-1500ft – busting one of these will land you into a gasco sentence very promptly
Loss of control was blamed in the case of that RBS banker also.
In any case, nobody will be getting out of a PA28 if the front RHS occupant is not agile.
The weather was patchy with TCU/CB cross the channel yesterday midday and afternoon (I was bimbling along Dieppe) but I doubt it was challenging as plenty of room to avoid unless one is tight on fuel or can’t deviate on his navigation
The PA28 flight was very early on the morning, I doubt TCU were a factor and I think plenty of aircraft have flown VFR to LeTouquet