7274-A00-131
	SOUTH AFRICAN CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY ACCIDENT REPORT – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Date of Accident	19/11/2000		Time of Accident				1620z
Aircraft Registration	1. ZU-CGP 2. ZU-AAO		Type of Aircraft				1 & 2: Windlass Aquilla
Pilot-in-command Licence Type			1. Commercial 2. Student				Licence Valid		Yes - both
Pilot-in-command Flying Experience			Total Flying Hours		1. 8210.5 hrs 2. 17.3 hrs		Total Hours on Type		1. 396.5 hrs 2. 17.3 hrs
Type of Operation			Private
Last point of departure			Oudtshoorn Aerodrome
Next point of intended landing			Oudtshoorn Aerodrome
Location of the accident site with reference to easily defined geographical points (plus GPS readings if possible)
Near the show grounds in the outskirts of Oudtshoorn at a position South 33°36,802' East 022°11,976'.
Meteorological Information		Fine weather.
Number of people on board		1+1 & 1		No. of people injured		Nil		No. of people killed		1+1 & 1
Synopsis
A group of five microlight aircraft went for a pleasure flight. The aircraft ZU-CGP took-off in the third place with the pilot and a passenger onboard and the aircraft ZU-AAO took-off in the fourth place with only the pilot onboard. The pilot that took-off in the fifth place saw ZU-AAO take-off and turn out to the left. After take-off he turned the aircraft to the right and at a height of about 800 feet his passenger alerted him that two of the aircraft had contacted each other in flight. He looked to his left and saw an aircraft tumble to the ground with the second aircraft falling to the left of the first one. A witness on the ground stated that he saw the two microlight aircraft fly and was concerned about the two aircraft flying very close to each other. The left-hand aircraft turned to the left in a fairly steep turn and the right-hand aircraft followed it. The witness stated that he saw the right-hand aircraft impact the left-hand aircraft from behind and both fell to the ground. During the investigation it was determined that neither of these aircraft had valid Authority to Fly documents. The safety culture in the flight school was not supportive of a safe flying environment.
Probable Cause
The most probable cause of the two aircraft making contact with each other in flight was the fact that the pilot of ZU-CGP misjudged the turn rate of his aircraft when he followed ZU-AAO in the left-hand evading turn that the student pilot executed. A contributory factor was the safety culture of the Chief Instructor of the flying school.