JETPod Crash In MALAYSIA, Taiping

[SKYHOBBIES]

TAIPING: Newly-assembled aircraft Jetpod, by British-based Avcen, crash landed during a test flight from Tekah airstrip near here, killing pilot Michael Robert Dacre, 53, who is also the managing director of the Avcen.

The crash happened at 12.30pm Sunday. The Jetpod is owned by AVCEN’s Malaysian subsidiary.

According to Wikipedia Jetpod is a design proposal for a very quiet aircraft that can take off and land in short distances (STOL), developed by Avcen Limited, a company formed in 1998 to promote development of the Jetpod.

It aimed to Jetpod in the skies by 2010.

A number of applications have been proposed, including as a military transport, an executive transport, and as a short to medium-range air taxi.

According to Avcen's publicity materials, the Jetpod's maximum speed is 550 km/h (350 mph, 300 knots).

It would needs only 125 meters (135 yards) to take-off or land, allowing runways to be constructed close to the center of major cities, and would be sufficiently quiet to not be noticeable above city traffic.

The trip from Heathrow Airport to central London would take about 4 minutes and cost about $100

[SKYHOBBIES]

I think the Managing Director tried to Rotate before V1 to score within the takeoff distant envelope... sad

[ERJets]

OMG!!! Looks like a stall to me.
I am so sorry to see this maiden clip.

[cameraman]

Flightglobal had this to say:

Circumstances of the accident have yet to be established but a witness at the crash site tells Flightglobal that the aircraft had already made three runs, during each of which there appeared to be engine problems.

It made a fourth attempt to become airborne, he says, and took off at about 12:45, entering a "sharp climb". It appeared to suffer a problem with its left-hand engine, he says, at about 500-700ft, then yawed sharply to the left and crashed.



BTW this was on 16th August, not last Sunday.

[dennisp]

An engine out on take off is sure bad news especially on a new plane, sad loss of life and also a potential nice aircraft.