Pilot killed in show aerobatics display ‘not following routine’

Chris Penistone, 31, who worked for the Jet2 airline, initiated a recovery from a flat spin at “a height lower than required”, the report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

As his parents watched, his two-seater Extra EA300L aerobatic aircraft flew into the ground at Methley Bridge Boatyard near Castleford, West Yorkshire, on the afternoon of June 19 last year.

Mr Penistone was from Knottingley, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, and was a member of Sherburn Aero Club near Leeds.

The AAIB report said the aircraft’s manoeuvres were “not in the sequence shown on the pilot’s display card”.

From video clips and 278 photographs taken by witnesses, it was established that the aircraft was at a height of around 690ft when the spin recovery was initiated.

The AAIB said flight observations in a similar aircraft showed consistently that 1,000ft was required to recover the aircraft to level flight from a flat spin.

As Mr Penistone was authorised to do aerobatics at a minimum of 300ft, he would have needed to initiate the recovery from the spin at a height of 1,300ft, the AAIB said.

The report added: “From this height (of around 690ft) flight observations indicated a safe recovery would not have been possible.”

This was the third of Mr Penistone’s displays. The report said that after the first two displays he had told friends he was feeling a little tired and that the wind had made things a little difficult for him during his earlier displays.

The AAIB said a human factors expert considered Mr Penistone’s judgment “may have been affected by fatigue and life stresses”.

Mr Penistone had gained a private pilot’s licence in 1999 and a commercial pilot’s licence in June 2003.The AAIB recommended the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) consider introducing “a mentoring process” for pilots who have received their first display authorisation.