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The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued a warning to pilots after discovering that a fatal glider accident in Northland in 2017 was likely caused by an onboard lithium battery that burst into flames.
A Pipestrel Taurus battery powered glider. Source: Dura-Ace / Wikimedia Commons
The CAA has released its safety investigation report into the death of a 72-year-old pilot, who took off from Kaikohe airfield in November 2017.
The pilot, Rico Legler, was flying a Pipistrel Taurus Electro G2, which differs from conventional gliders in that it has a built-in battery-powered retractable propeller to launch and maintain speed during flight.
During the flight, one of the aircraft’s lithium polymer batteries is believed to have caught fire, filling the cabin with fumes and smoke.
The CAA said the pilot then made an emergency descent to the airfield, but in doing so, he exceeded the speed for which the glider was built and failed structurally.
The glider’s wings collapsed and the aircraft suffered a “non-survivable” impact with the ground.
Dean Winter, CAA’s deputy executive director for aviation security, said that “batteries must be properly charged and maintained according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
“If the battery is suspected of being damaged due to a sudden impact, it should be checked before flying again.
“Battery fires burn at a very rapid rate, releasing a significant amount of energy and toxic fumes, and in seconds a cabin can fill with toxic smoke; these fires can be deadly and spread rapidly.”
At the time of the accident, it was the only battery-powered glider in New Zealand.
