The Islander prototype was flown back to England following demonstration flights in Germany. It departed Emden at 11:37 and continued over the Northern part of the Netherlands in VMC at 1500 feet, above the clouds. Weather conditions in the Schiphol Control Zone were IMC so the air traffic controller advised the flight to divert to Eelde. At 12:35 the pilot reported serious compass trouble. He circled the area and began to climb to 6000 feet and later to 8700 feet in an attempt to get on top of the clouds. The airplane continued to climb to about 10.000 feet where it would have encountered severe icing conditions. Control was lost and the airplane broke up in flight. It crashed into the Ringwiel, a small lake near Oudega. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The accident was caused by the failure of the starboard wing, as a result of overstressing during a fast descent. The descent was presumably caused by loss of control under conditions of heavy icing and turbulence, when the aircraft was flown beyond the operating limitations stipulated in its Certificate of Airworthiness.”