Safety Topics

Abstract

Disappearance of a Reims Cessna F172N light aircraft after loss of radar contact when not a great distance from one of the Channel Islands, and subsequent recovery of the engine from the sea bed 13 months later, is a rare occurrence. No trace was ever found of the pilot (the sole occupant) or of the rest of the aircraft. It was on a flight from Shoreham to Jersey in January, 1985 and the pilot had obtained the latest Jersey weather after landing from a previous short flight. Guernsey weather was similar to the forecast obtained and the aftercast indicated that the cloud cover would increase and lower in the area of the Channel Islands and that the risk of severe icing and low level turbulence would also have increased in the vicinity.