Safety Investigation into Accident at Räyskälä Airfield on 16 October 2024

The Safety In­ves­ti­ga­tion Au­thor­ity, Fin­land (SIAF) has started an in­ves­ti­ga­tion into an avi­a­tion ac­ci­dent that oc­curred on 16 Oc­to­ber 2024 at Räyskälä air­field in Fin­land. The en­gine of a World War II-era SNJ-3 air­craft shut down shortly af­ter take-off and the air­craft crashed. The two peo­ple on board were fa­tally in­jured and the air­craft was dam­aged be­yond re­pair.

The aircraft was due to be transferred to Germany after final check flights.

The purpose of a safety investigation is to improve public safety and prevent further accidents and incidents from occurring. A safety investigation does not address questions of legal liability or compensation.

The SIAF will continue its investigation by further collecting background information and documents, conducting interviews and examining the wreckage of the aircraft itself. The investigation of the wreckage itself will be carried out in the coming weeks. The wreckage will be dismantled so as to rule out possible causes of the accident.

“What we know about the sequence of events is that the plane took off and shortly afterwards turned sharply right – and finally crashed into a nearby forest. Based on the information we have, the airplane’s engine shut down in the air. This conclusion is supported by eyewitness and noise observations, as well as the impact marks of the plane’s propeller. We are investigating what caused the aircraft engine to shut down. In practice, we have two possibilities: either we are dealing with a purely technical cause or a combination of technical and human factors,” says Janne Kotiranta, Investigator in Charge.

The investigation will focus in particular on the operation of the engine system and the training and experience of the pilot.

The duration of a safety investigation is 9-12 months.