'Mechanical fault' caused fatal 2017 Caernarfon Airport crash
A report into a fatal aircraft crash at Caernarfon Airport has found a mechanical fault was the cause.
Pilot John Edwin Backhouse was killed when his twin-engined Piper PA31 Navajo aircraft crashed into the runway on September 6 in 2017.
The Air Accident Investigation Branch report published today the cause of the fault is likely to remain a mystery.
One possible scenario, according to the report, is that the tool which keeps the aircraft in balance during flight, had failed. Investigators found the device was in a "significantly nose down position" - not the normal position for take-off or landing.
According to the AAIB this would have caused the pilot "considerable difficulty in maintaining control of the aircraft."
Both the UK and European air safety authorities are taking action to promote awareness of this issue as a result of the crash.
62-year-old John Edwin Backhouse had his own private airfield, and the nine-seater light aircraft had taken off on the day of the crash from the grass runway close to the M56 motorway at about 5.30pm. He was planning to fly to Ireland.
The flight operated normally with the pilot contacting air traffic controllers in Liverpool and London.
According to the report, about 20 minutes into the flight Mr Backhouse, from Cheshire, radioed the London Information controller and said he was having problems and was going to divert to Caernarfon "as a precaution".
He did not declare an emergency.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the plane approach the runway at speed, rocking from side to side and its engines were making a high-pitched noise.
The aircraft hit the runway heavily and bounced back into the air briefly. A significant fire broke out as the aircraft slid along the runway. Airfield fire crews were quickly on scene but Mr Backhouse suffered fatal injuries.
Officers from North Wales Police worked with AAIB officers in examining the scene.
An inquest has been formally opened and adjourned into the pilot's death death. North Wales senior coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones said the case will be reopened as soon as possible after the report's publication.