Aircraft sold to English pilot for storage in Räyskälä before transfer to Germany

The aircraft involved in the Lopen incident was a U.S.-made World War II training plane with a relatively low number of flight hours. It was brought to Finland in September 2020. Oy Navywings Ltd acquired the North American Aviation AT-6 Texan, specifically the naval version SNJ-3, for experience flights. This aircraft was built in 1942.

Navywings owner Petteri Tarma shared in an interview in 2020 that acquiring the aircraft had been a long-time dream. He sold the plane this spring to English pilot Philipp Lawton, who arranged storage for it in Räyskälä. Lawton is set to sell the aircraft to Germany, where it is scheduled to fly soon.

Tarma is recognized as a commercial pilot, a former chairman, and honorary chairman of the Finnish Aviation Federation, as well as an active aviation enthusiast and trainer on the historical Douglas DC-3. Efforts to reach Tarma for further comment were unsuccessful.

According to Lentoposti.fi, Tarma purchased the aircraft from a seller who had built and overhauled a total of 20 Texan planes. When brought to Finland, the aircraft had logged only 3,400 flight hours, in contrast to many similar planes that often exceed 20,000 hours of flight time.

Initially transferred to England as the plane for the U.S. base commander, the aircraft later resumed training operations in Pensacola, Florida, and moved on to San Diego. It served in the Swedish Air Force from 1950 to 1957 before being transferred to South America, where it operated as a training aircraft for the Argentinian and Paraguayan navies until 1988. After returning to Florida, it was stored at the Fantasy of Flight aviation museum until being acquired by a restorer.

In the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency’s registry, the plane is registered under the identifier OH-NAT.

The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is a powerful and advanced two-seat training aircraft used by U.S. and British forces during World War II. First flown in 1935, a total of 15,495 units were produced in various versions, differing mainly in armament. The naval version involved in the incident is lighter than its air force counterpart by several dozen kilograms. It is well-regarded among pilots, with the ability to fly a Texan translating to proficiency with other military aircraft.