Aircraft: Daedalus Wax and Feather Wings
Location: Crete
Injuries: 1 FATAL
Aircraft damage: DESTROYED
What reportedly happened: A father and son were attempting to escape from a labyrinth on the island of Crete using two experimental aircraft, which consisted of two pairs of wings made from wax and feathers. Neither held a pilot certificate. No flight plan was filed. The son was briefed by his father, who was the designer and builder of the wings. The father warned his son "not to fly too close to the sun lest the wings melt" and "not too fly to low lest the wings touch the waves and get wet." The launch was uneventful. However, a few minutes into the flight, the son began an unauthorized ascent. According to the father, the boy flew too close to the sun, melting the wax that held the wings together. The wings collapsed and the son crashed into the Aegean Sea, where he drowned.
Probable cause: The son's failure to file a flight plan and failure to heed
the warning of his father, which led to acute structural failure.
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General Aviation News 7/18/2003