2011 Lightship Europe airship crash

Airship crash in Germany 2011 Lightship Europe airship disaster Oberursel, Hessentag 2011, Prallluftschiff Spirit of Safety.JPG 1.15 G-TLEL, the airship involved in the accident, seen the day of the accident Accident 2011 06 12 y Caught fire after fuel leak caused by a broken gear and overloading Near Reichelsheim, Hesse, Germany American Blimp A-60+ Spirit Of Safety I Lightship Europe Ltd. G-TLEL Oberursel, Hesse, Germany Reichelsheim, Hesse, Germany 4 3 1 1 3 On June 12, 2011, an American Blimp A-60+, operated by Lightship Europe, caught fire during landing at Reichelsheim. The initial impact during the landing procedure damaged the blimp's landing gear which started a fuel leak that eventually lead to a fire. The blimp was on an advertisement flight with passengers. Out of the 4 occupants on board, the pilot died. 28 October 2019 12 June 2011 Accident American Blimp A-60+ G-TLEL, Sunday 12 June 2011 https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/123038 13 September 2024 Aviation Safety Network English Background Aircraft The airship involved was an American Blimp A-60+ that had the Goodyear logo written on it. The registration of the aircraft was G-TLEL, and although operating in Germany, the airship had a United Kingdom registration. It was manufactured in 1991 and powered by two Limbach L2000 EC1 engines. 13 June 2011 Investigation report of an accident with Blimp near Reichelsheim //www.bfu-web.de/EN/Publications/FinalReports/2011/Report_11_CX004_Blimp_Reichelsheim.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1 13 September 2024 German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation English Passengers and crew The pilot was 52 years old Australian Micheal Nerandzic, he had 12,330 flight hours on blimps. The passengers were all reporters. The blimp was on an advertisement flight with passengers to promote a festival in the city of Oberursel.https://www.airships.net/blog/goodyear-blimp-crash-germany/ Goodyear Blimp Crash in Germany 12 June 2011Grossman Dan 12 June 2011 12 June 2011 Goodyear Blimp Crash in Germany https://www.airships.net/blog/goodyear-blimp-crash-germany/ 13 September 2024 Airships.net English Accident thumb|The airship involved while flying over the United Kingdom At 8:30 am local time the airship began preparation for the flight, and the gas started being pumped inside it. At 9:30 am the load sheet was redacted, the aircraft had a weight of nearly 1,400 kg. At 6:08 pm the airship took off for the eighth flight of the day, on board that flight were pilot Nerandzic (who was the second pilot to fly the airship that day) and the three passengers. The flight plan was to fly over Bad Homburg, to allow the journalists to take photos of the preparation for a concert. After two hours of flight the pilot contacted the Reichelsheim airfield to report his position in preparation for landing; at that time he was 5 nautical miles south-west of the airfield. During the approach the passengers observed that the aircraft was descending quickly, and at 8:15 pm the airship impacted the ground about 470 m away from the landing spot. After the impact the occupants started to smell fuel on board and heat was perceived inside the gondola, this eventually led to a fire, that started to develop in the aft part of the cabin. The ground crew reported smoke coming from the cabin, and soon after the three passengers disembarked and the airship started to climb again. The aircraft reached 100 m of height, and the fire spread throughout the rest of the cabin and the envelope. At 8:20 pm the airship crashed about 400 m away from the touchdown point. The final report concluded that the landing gear moved so far back that the steel cable ruptured. As a result, the airship slid on the ground for a few meters and, during that movement, the broken gear ruptured a valve causing the fuel leak. Final report The final report concluded that the crash was caused by pilot error, and that the wind conditions at the landing airport and the erroneous loading of the airship were contributing factors.Croft John 14 October 2013 Goodyear-Branded Blimp 'Overloaded' In 2011 Crash in Germany https://www.blimpinfo.com/airships/gy-brand-blimp-in-germany-crash/ 13 September 2024 LighterThanAirSociety English Croft John 14 October 2013 Goodyear-Branded Blimp 'Overloaded' In 2011 Crash in Germany https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/goodyear-blimp-overloaded-germany-crash 13 September 2024 Aviation Week Network English 12 June 2011 Pilot verbrennt qualvoll bei Zeppelin-Absturz https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/weltgeschehen/article13426856/Pilot-verbrennt-qualvoll-bei-Zeppelin-Absturz.html 13 September 2024 Die Welt German 15 June 2011 15 June 2011 Goodyear blimp crashes in Germany https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2011/june/15/goodyear-blimp-crashes-in-germany 13 September 2024 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association English Aftermath The day after the crash Lightship Europe issued a statement sending condolences to the family of the dead pilot. The company also suspended the operations with their second airship until further notice. 13 June 2011 13 June 2011 Statement by The Lightship Group about Blimp Accident in Germany https://www.airships.net/blog/statement-lightship-group-blimp-accident-germany/ 13 September 2024 Airships.net English In 2014 the pilot was posthumously assigned a Star of Courage by Australia for saving the passengers. 18 August 2014 18 August 2014 Heroic airship pilot Michael Nerandzic among Australian Bravery Decorations recipients https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/heroic-airship-pilot-michael-nerandzic-among-australian-bravery-decorations-recipients-20140815-104lum.html 13 September 2024 The Sydney Morning Herald English The final report on the accident was published by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation. See also Wingfoot Air Express crash List of airship accidents References Category:Odenwaldkreis Category:2010s in Hesse Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving balloons and airships Category:Aircraft fires Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2011 Category:June 2011 in Germany Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Germany Category:Aviation accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Category:Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company