AAIB investigation to Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II, G-BNZZ
Aircraft damaged by overrun on landing, East Kirkby Airfield, Lincolnshire, 19 June 2017.
Summary:
East Kirkby is an unlicensed airfield within the Coningsby Military Aerodrome Traffic Zone. The airfield has an unmarked landing strip that is part grass and part concrete. Online advice recommends that: ‘the concrete should only be used for emergency run off and it is best for you to land entirely on the grass’.
Having been cleared by ATC to descend at his discretion, the pilot noted that he was slightly north of the extended runway centreline. He corrected his course and observed a vehicle turning away from him on the concrete at the far end of the runway. On touching down, he “sensed that the distance would be tight”, but decided against a touch-and-go because of reduced climb performance due to the high ambient temperature and the proximity of personnel and vehicles. Unable to stop on the grass, the aircraft was dam-aged when it struck a raised kerb at the transition with the concrete. The pilot and his passenger were uninjured.
The pilot attributed the accident to a combination of a high approach and landing long and to the left of the unmarked strip; he also commented that the “airfield plate” was am-biguous.
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