AAIB investigation to Socata TB10 Tobago, G-GOLF
Aircraft departed runway while landing, Fadmoor Airfield, Yorkshire, 6 April 2018.
Summary:
As the pilot approached the grass Runway 02 at Fadmoor Airfield which is 18 m wide, and which he was familiar with, he observed a windsock and assessed that there was a crosswind from the left of approximately 10 kt. The pilot reported that after touching down on an uphill slope, the left wing was lifted by a strong gust of wind and the aircraft swung right. The pilot had placed one hand on the throttle and was unable to prevent the aircraft running off the runway into a field of soft soil, where the nose landing gear collapsed and the propeller struck the ground.
The pilot, subsequently decided that he may have inaccurately assessed the wind velocity indicated by the windsock. He believes there may have been a tailwind component, which meant the aircraft’s groundspeed at touchdown was greater than he anticipated, and that the wind strength increased as the aircraft progressed along the runway and up the slope. Given these conditions, the pilot realised that he should have considered landing on the shorter Runway 32. He was less familiar with operating on Runway 32 than Runway 20, but it was better aligned towards the wind.
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