Independent report

AAIB Record-only investigations reviewed: January – February 2022

Published 14 April 2022

Event Date	Aircraft Type	Registration	Location Name	Record Only Occurrence Text
16 Sep 2020	RotorSport UK MTOSport	G-CIFT	Glengorm, Isle of Mull	While landing in a crosswind the gyroplane bounced then touched down again on uneven ground beside the runway. The gyroplane rolled over, causing extensive damage but no injuries. The accident occurred in September 2020 but details were not reported to the AAIB until September 2021.
15 Jul 2021	AT-16 Harvard IIB	G-CORS	East Midlands Airport	The pilot was attempting to land the tailwheel equipped aircraft in a strong crosswind. After the initial touchdown, the aircraft become directionally unstable, resulting in a ground loop and failure of the left main landing gear leg. The pilot considered that he had not maintained sufficient aileron input on the ‘into wind’ wing to maintain control.
18 Jul 2021	Aeroprakt A32 Vixxen	G-DREW	Sandtoft Airfield, North Lincolnshire	The left wing tip touched the runway during a crosswind landing. This resulted in a heavy landing during which the nose gear collapsed.
06 Sep 2021	Piper PA-28-161	G-BSBA	Lydeway Field Airstrip, near Devizes, Wiltshire	On landing, and during braking, the aircraft slewed and then left the grass runway. The right wing struck a hedge causing the wing to detach.
18 Sep 2021	Vans RV-12	G-RMPS	Kingsmuir Airfield, Fife	Following a short solo flight, the pilot positioned the aircraft for landing. On crossing the runway threshold, the pilot felt he was travelling slightly faster than expected. After touching down the aircraft bounced and the pilot decided to hold off but the aircraft did not settle. The nose landing gear collapsed before he could initiate a go-around.
10 Nov 2021	Rans S6-ESD	G-MYDK	Near Eshott Airfield, Northumberland	The aircraft’s engine stopped as the pilot reduced power on final approach to Runway 19. The aircraft caught the top of a hedge as the pilot attempted to land in a crop field short of the runway, and it came to rest inverted. Examination of the aircraft following the accident revealed a significant quantity of water in the fuel filter, and the pilot stated that the probable cause of the engine stoppage was water ingestion into the carburettors.
21 Dec 2021	DHC-1 Chipmunk 22	G-CLLI	Brunton Airfield, Northumberland	The engine malfunctioned and the pilot made a precautionary landing at a disused airfield. Towards the end of the landing roll the passenger, seated in the front, alerted the pilot (whose view from the back seat was less good) about an obstacle ahead. The pilot manoeuvred to avoid it and the tip of the left wing was damaged when it hit a fence post. The pilot reported that his experience and familiarity with the aircraft gave him confidence to choose the landing site promptly and handle the precautionary landing, assisting the safe outcome.
09 Jan 2022	Vans RV-6	G-OPAR	Graveley, Hertfordshire	The pilot had made two earlier attempts to land which had been unsuccessful because of the loss of visibility in the final stages of the approach due to flying towards the sun, which was low on the horizon. The third attempt to land resulted in the aircraft landing short, on a golf course. The aircraft’s landing gear collapsed and the propeller was damaged.
16 Jan 2022	Aero AT-3 R100	G-SYEL	Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire	During a student solo flight the aircraft bounced on landing, damaging the nose landing gear.
20 Jan 2022	Just SuperSTOL	G-JWNI	Private farmstrip, Killinchy, County Down	The pilot, who reported approximately 2.5 hours experience as pilot in command on the aircraft type, was attempting to land on a short farm strip. He reported that he misjudged his height over the hedge at the start of the field. The aircraft’s wheels clipped the hedge causing it to pitch forward and collide with the ground, stopping inverted.
31 Jan 2022	Cessna T210N Turbo Centurion II	N9533Y	Cumbernauld Airport, North Lanarkshire	The pilot landed the aircraft with the wheels up after a short positioning flight from Edinburgh to Cumbernauld. Although experienced with over 1,100 hours on type, the pilot had being been flying a business jet exclusively for the two years up to the day of the accident. The pilot was acutely aware that the runway at Cumbernauld was relatively short (about 820 m) compared to anywhere he had landed in the previous two years, and was so focussed on getting the landing correct that he forgot to complete the pre-landing and final approach checks.
19 Feb 2022	RotorSport UK MTOSport	G-CIHH	Perth Airport, Perthshire	During takeoff the rotor flapped back and hit the tail. The rudder, propeller tips and the underside of both rotor blades were damaged. The pilot aborted the takeoff and taxied back. The event was probably due to low rotor RPM for takeoff.
20 Feb 2022	Cessna 172N	G-BONO	Perranporth Airfield, Cornwall	The aircraft had flown to Perranporth, in Cornwall, from Northern Ireland in challenging wind conditions. Whilst taxiing outside the hangar at Perranporth Airfield, a gust of wind under the right wing tipped the aircraft, causing the left wing tip and the propeller to hit the ground. Note: The entry for this report was incorrectly entered and was amended online on 12 May 2022. Full details can be found in the June 2022 Bulletin.
27 Feb 2022	Piper PA-28-235	G-CCBH	Welshpool Airport, Powys	The aircraft departed the side of the runway after landing in a gusting crosswind. It struck a fence which caused damage to the aircraft’s wings and exhaust.