Barrel Roll blunder puts airline exec in hot water

SLV, the Danish civil aviation authority, is investigating a questionable maneuver performed in an ATR 42 turboprop owned by Netherlands based regional airline Cimber Air. I first saw these photos earlier in the week and neglected to post them. That was until I learned today from Flight International that the ATR used may have sustained structural damage from the roll and that it is now being scrutinized by the SLV. The most interesting part of this story is that Jorgen Nielsen, the airline's managing director, was the one at the controls during this stunt which occurred on May 10. No one else was on board with Nielsen at the time and it is reported that he was preparing for an air show performance in June. It is unknown whether or not the barrel roll was intended for the air show performance. Neither Cimber Air or the SLV is saying much about the incident other than SLV commenting that they are awaiting a report and technical data from Cimber Air regarding the barrel roll. The SLV also stated "We suspect, although only on the basis of initial information, that the aircraft had been flown outside its operational envelope." The aircraft used was subsequently flown to Eindhoven for structural inspections by Cimber Air and the SLV.

Oops.

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