Saddened to hear of Grob SPn crash, killing test pilot Gerard Guillaumaud
I was shocked and saddened to hear of the crash of the second Grob SPn utility jet prototype during a demonstration flight on 29 November, which killed Grob chief test pilot Gerard Guillaumaud. I photographed the aircraft involved during my visit to Grob's Tussenhausen-Mattsies airfield in Germany just a few weeks before the accident (above).
I also had the pleasure of meeting the unassuming Guillaumaud, and his tragic loss underlines the dangers still faced by test pilots despite advances in structural and aerodynamic modelling technology.
Initial indications are that both elevators and the left stabiliser separated from the primarily composite aircraft before impact. Grob had lengthened the stabilisers on the second prototype (below, foreground) compared with the first, to improve performance in icing conditions.
