The Ex-Plane has an extraordinary past. On April 28th, 2013, the airplane registered ‘PH-HUB’ initiated its takeoff from the airport Budel, NL towards Cannes, FR.
Sitting right next to the captain was the owner of the airplane, who, along with his wife and two grandchildren, were looking forward to a nice flight towards France. Shortly after takeoff, the captain requested that the owner of the airplane, who also had a pilot’s license, retract the flaps. An error led the airplane to shut down the fuel supply to the engine, which shut down as a result.
At this point, the airplane wasn’t flying high enough to try to restart the engine. A belly landing in a nearby open field was therefore the only option that the captain had left.
Luckily, all passengers made it out of the airplane alright. The airplane itself was not alright; it was declared a total loss. A battle soon ensued between the passengers and the insurance company, because the latter did not want to pay the claim – mainly because someone besides the captain had touched the controls.