Cessna 182P Skylane, G-EEZS, 23 August 2013
Cessna 182P Skylane, G-EEZS
Summary:
The pilot flew from Popham to Rochester in poorer visibility than he was accustomed to and, as a consequence, had become “rather stressed” upon arrival. The wind at Biggin Hill (18 miles west of Rochester) was forecast to be 130°/14 kt so the pilot was expecting to use either Runway 16 or 20 at Rochester. However, on being given Runway 02, the pilot initially confused this for Runway 20 before realising his error and repositioning the aircraft to join what he described as a “busy circuit”. On reporting final, he heard no acknowledgement. He continued his approach but realised he was too high over the threshold and “dived at the runway”. He was then distracted by a radio call requesting his position and failed to notice how much his speed had increased. With a rapidly approaching runway, the pilot became fixated on landing the aircraft. Following several bounces, the nose landing gear collapsed and broke away, before the aircraft came to a stop. Neither occupant was injured. In a frank and honest report the pilot stated that his poor decision making and failure even to consider going around was a result of stress and distraction at a critical moment.
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