Mainair Sports Gemini Flash IIA G-MTUW near Meltham.
The pilot who would be sadly killed in this flying accident worked for the microlight manufacturer Mainair Sports Ltd. This microlight was a prototype that had had a more powerful engine fitted to make it suitable for a hotter, overseas environment. On Sunday, 7th May 1989 the weather was described as being excellent and earlier in the day it was flown on a number of test flights with two others. It had been intended to make the first flight from a flying site at Rochdale to Middleton Sands and, with two other microlights they set out from Rochdale but two of the three aircraft wre found to have directional control problems so all three landed at a microlight site at Inskip. After adjustments were made one of the microlights flew back to Rochdale. The pilots of G-MTUW and the third decided to fly to Crosland Moor airfield and forty five minutes after landing at Inskip they took off. The pilot of G-MTUW found that he had a similar directional control problem on this flight so after landing at Crosland Moor further adjustments were made. At 16.15hrs the pilot took off from Crosland Moor and had intended to fly back to Rochdale. It must have remained flying in the general area of the airfield for several minutes and around ten minutes later the microlight crashed near to the junction of Deer Hill End Road and Slaithwaite Road, around a mile north-west of Meltham. The pilot was sadly killed. Witnesses stated that the saw it climb very steeply, make several steep diving turns before again making another steep climb. During the steep climbs the engine was heard to reduce in power but to pick up speed once it was diving. At what became the top of the final steep climb, stated to have been around eighty degrees, the engine again reduced in power but control was also lost. It tumbled to the ground, the wings folded during the descent and part of the structure hit and brokr off parts of one propeller blade.
An investigation found that with around the same amount of fuel in the tank and flying at the angle it did would cause the fuel pump to draw air not fuel into the engine. This would have seen the engine cut and act as it did. Exactly what the pilot was attempting to do by climbing at such a steep angle was not known. The airframe was not designed to withstand the loading on the wing and this was second Gemini Flash IIA microlight to crash with fatal results in a short period of time in similar circumstances. The aircraft was registered to the manufacturer, Mainair Sports Ltd, of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Following these incidents the company published letter and bulletins that "www.pmaviation.co.uk" have archived on their website that mention both accidents and with bank and pitch angles specifications being lowered for this type of microlight after the accidents. Mainair Sports Ltd had their managing director killed in another Mainair microlight crash on 7th June 1989.
Pilot - Mr Simon Kenyon. Aged 27. Of Bamford, Rochdale. Buried Rochdale Cemetery, Greater Manchester.