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March 30, 2014 - On Saturday about 3 PM local
time a Aerostar Yak 52 crashed shortly after
takeoff from North Weald Airfield, Essex,
England killing its pilot and passenger after
the pilot attempted to perform a loop-the-loop
maneuver 100 feet above ground level.
The pilot and passenger have been identified.
The pilot was Andrew Sully, 50 who was a senior
first officer with British Airways and passenger
Simon Chamberlain, 29. The Soviet made aerobatic
training aircraft crashed in a field in
Crooksmill Green, Essex.
Witnesses near the crash site reported seeing
the pilot attempt a "loop the loop" maneuver 100
feet AGL when the Yak 52 nosedived into the
ground and then burst into flames.
An attempt by residents and first responder to
get the pilot and passenger out of the plane was
attempted but failed due to the heat and fire
coming from the aircraft. Both men were
pronounced dead at the scene.
It was reported that
Chamberlain who is a regular at the airport
was at the airport when he accepted an
impromptu invitation to fly with
Sully in his two seats Yak 52 aircraft. The
Yak 52 which is powered by 360 hp Vedeneyev
M14P 9-cylinder radial engine was first
introduced into the market in 1976.
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