Independent report

AAIB Record-only investigations reviewed: July – August 2021

Published 14 October 2021

Event Date	Aircraft Type	Registration	Location	Record Only Occurrence Text
20 Apr 2021	Yak-3UA	G-OLEG	Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire	While completing the checks prior to engine start, the pilot misidentified the throttle and propeller controls, which were arranged differently to the aircraft he flew normally. He mistakenly applied full throttle instead of fine pitch. On starting the aircraft, the engine produced high power, causing the aircraft to pitch forward despite full tail-down elevator. The propeller was damaged and no injuries were reported
26 Apr 2021	Cirrus 22	N222SW	Wycombe Air Park, Buckinghamshire	Following a bounced landing the pilot applied power to go around. The aircraft did not achieve adequate performance to climb safely and was significantly damaged when it collided with a hedge beyond the runway. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was uninjured and vacated the aircraft without assistance. He considered the final approach may have been too fast.
07 May 2021	Streak Shadow	G-BYOO	Old Park Farm Airfield, Port Talbot, Glamorgan	The aircraft was landing on a farm strip with a significant upslope. A small tailwind, together with insufficient control input by the pilot to account for the increasing slope component, contributed to a long flare during touchdown. This resulted in a hard landing, the nose gear collapsing, and the aircraft rapidly coming to a stop.
07 May 2021	Diamond DA42M	G-ZATG	Leeds Bradford Airport, West Yorkshire	The crew had briefed to conduct a practice EFATO followed by two asymmetric circuits as part of refresher training, with the first circuit being an overshoot and the second to land; the first circuit was completed successfully. However, because the airport was shortly to close, the crew elected to fly a tighter second circuit and omitted to lower the landing gear. Upon touching down, the aircraft slid along the runway before coming to a stop. The fuselage, nacelles and propellers sustained damage.
27 May 2021	Eurofox 912(S)	G-CIML	Newtownards Airport, County Down	During the flare to land a gust of wind lifted the right wing causing the left wing to contact the ground. The aircraft swung to the left and departed the runway heading towards a steel fence. As the pilot attempted to avoid the fence the right wheel entered soft ground, the aircraft swung through 180 degrees and it came to an abrupt stop on its nose.
27 May 2021	Mainair Blade 912	G-CBOM	Graveley, Hertfordshire	After flying for 75 minutes in turbulent conditions, described by the pilot as “a heavy workload in a flex-wing”, the pilot flew a normal approach and positioned the aircraft to land. However, after the initial flare, he reported encountering “unexpected significant sink” and, despite taking corrective action, the aircraft landed heavily and sustained substantial damage, including a fractured keel tube.
28 May 2021	Cessna 340	N63EN	North Weald Airfield, Essex	The pilot landed having seen cockpit indications that the landing gear was down, but on touchdown the left landing gear collapsed and the aircraft subsequently left the runway surface. A bolt in the retraction system had failed allowing the landing gear to collapse.
30 May 2021	Renegade Spirit UK	G-RNGD	Roughay Farm, Lower Upham, Hampshire	The pilot reported that during the take-off run, the aircraft veered to the left shortly after the tailwheel lifted off the ground. He was unable to regain the runway centreline and the aircraft entered a crop field where it came to rest inverted. The pilot was uninjured and reported that aircraft checks found nothing to explain the accident. He stated that the wind was around 5 to 6 kt and suggested that a crosswind gust could have been a factor.
31 May 2021	RotorSport UK Cavalon	G-IDYL	Wendover, Buckinghamshire	The pilot conducted a forced landing in a field, after the engine bay fire warning light illuminated and he could smell burning. The aircraft collided with a hedge and was seriously damaged. A joint in the exhaust system had become disconnected, which had allowed hot gases to leak into the engine bay.
01 Jun 2021	Scintex CP1310-C3	G-BCHP	New Farm Airstrip, Bristol	On landing, the pilot inadvertently did not fully retard the throttle. This resulted in the aircraft reducing speed at a slower rate than normal during braking and it subsequently departing the runway. The aircraft came to rest in a hedge.
06 Jun 2021	American AA-1	G-BFOJ	Sherburn Aero Club, Sherburn in Elmet, North Yorkshire	The aircraft took off with the towbar still attached. The pilot was alerted to this over the radio and he returned to land. The tow bar came off on the runway and the propeller suffered slight damage to one propeller blade tip. The pilot reported that prior to the flight he had pulled the aircraft to the fuel pump but parked it further away than normal. This meant that he didn’t need to push the aircraft backwards before starting up. He had also been distracted from his routine by walking away to talk to another pilot before entering the aircraft.
14 Jun 2021	Gulfstream AA-5B	G-BIPV	Sandown Airport, Isle of Wight, Hampshire	Following an uneventful approach to land in very little wind, with full flap deployed, the aircraft floated over the grass strip for an “unusually long” time before touching down. The brakes were applied but the pilot was unable to bring the aircraft to a safe stop. It overran the end of the runway into rough terrain and gravel, during which the nose gear collapsed.
01 Jul 2021	Quik GT450	G-FRGT	Enstone Airfield, Oxfordshire	Whilst landing, the aircraft bounced and became airborne again. As it did so the trike skewed to the right. When it touched down again the wing contacted the ground and the aircraft flipped over, coming to rest inverted. The pilot was uninjured, but the wing and propeller were damaged in the accident.
09 Jul 2021	Acrosport 1	G-TSOL	Fishburn Airfield, Durham	The pilot reported that the right landing gear collapsed following an uneventful landing. Examination found a broken bolt on the right landing gear. The corresponding bolt on the left landing gear was significantly distorted.
16 Jul 2021	Vans RV-14	G-ORWS	Batch End Farm, Somerset	The pilot was flying to a grass farm strip, which he had not previously visited prior to the accident. He made a short field approach to the runway and touched down on all three wheels at the same time. He reported that the aircraft then bounced and on landing again, rapidly yawed to the left and tipped over.
16 Jul 2021	PA-32R-301T	N551TT	Compton Abbas Airfield, Dorset	Despite what appeared to be a normal landing with an 11 kt crosswind, the nose leg collapsed shortly after touchdown. The pilot reported that the likely cause was a mechanical failure.
16 Jul 2021	Robinson R44	G-WHGA	Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport, West Midlands	The student pilot, on his first solo, lost control in the hover and the helicopter struck the ground on its left side. The pilot suffered minor injuries. There was damage to the main and tail rotor blades, damage to the tail and minor damage to the fuselage. The main rotor blades of a nearby stationary R22 were struck by debris.
17 Jul 2021	Cessna 152	G-GFIG	Denham Aerodrome, Buckinghamshire	Following three circuits with an instructor, the pilot took off for his second solo flight. He decided to land after the second solo circuit because he was aware of a faint engine related smell. On touchdown the aircraft bounced so he applied some power to go around but then realised that he hadn’t applied full power and so elected to continue the landing and bring the aircraft to a stop. As the brakes were applied, the aircraft pitched down such that a propeller blade struck, and became stuck, in the ground.
18 Jul 2021	EV-97 Eurostar SL	G-JBAV	Causeway Airfield, Coleraine, County Londonderry	During landing the aircraft bounced and drifted left. The pilot tried to go-around but the left wing hit a fence post to the left of the runway causing the aircraft to swing further left. The undercarriage collapsed and the right wing struck the fence. Lack of recency and dehydration may have contributed to the accident.
19 Jul 2021	Rans S6-ESA	G-MZOZ	Perranporth Airfield, Cornwall	The aircraft bounced during landing causing the nosewheel to detach.
19 Jul 2021	Cessna 150G	G-BRLR	Crossland Moor Airfield, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire	The pilot reported losing directional control while backtracking. The aircraft’s wings were slightly damaged when they hit nearby bushes.
22 Jul 2021	Ikarus C42 FB100 Bravo	G-MEGZ	Cotswold Airport, Kemble, Gloucestershire	The aircraft landed hard resulting in damage to the landing gear.
23 Jul 2021	Piper PA-28R-200-2	G-FULL	London Southend Airport, Essex	During the downwind checks the student confirmed the three green landing gear lights were illuminated. They were checked again on final approach and the instructor made another check just prior to touchdown. During the touchdown, which was described as smooth, the left main landing gear collapsed, the wingtip contacted the ground and the nose landing gear subsequently collapsed. The right main landing gear remained locked down and the aircraft came to rest at the side of the runway. The mechanical and electrical systems were tested but no fault could be found and the cause of the failure was not determined.
26 Jul 2021	Cessna 172S	G-HLOB	Goodwood Aerodrome, West Sussex	The student pilot applied forward control column following a bounced landing. The aircraft touched down heavily on the nose gear which then collapsed, allowing the propeller to strike the ground.
26 Jul 2021	Aerotechnik EV-97 EuroStar	G-CCUT	Defford Croft Farm, Worcestershire	The pilot had not flown for over six months due to the restrictions from the Covid-19 pandemic, so he undertook a flight with an instructor as part of his return to flying. After carrying out some handling exercises they returned to the airstrip to fly a number of circuits. On the first approach, with a slight crosswind, the aircraft landed heavily resulting in the nose leg bending, the right main landing leg breaking off and one blade on the propeller striking the ground.
28 Jul 2021	Shadow Series CD	G-MWDB	Dairy House Farm, Crewe, Cheshire	Following an aborted takeoff the aircraft overshot the end of the runway and crashed into a hedge and farm machinery. The fuselage, nosewheel and a wing strut were damaged. The pilot reported that he suffered a minor foot injury.
01 Aug 2021	Piper PA-28-161	G-BFDK	London Elstree Aerodrome, Hertfordshire	After completing two successful circuits the instructor noticed after the third climb out that the aircraft was handling differently, and the right wheel was trailing behind the flap. The instructor took control and successfully landed left-wheel-first on the grass to the side of the runway. When the right wheel touched the aircraft rotated approximately 180 degrees.
02 Aug 2021	Skyranger 912(1)	G-CCDG	Oban Airport, Argyll and Bute	The aircraft landed heavily damaging the nose gear leg and propeller.
04 Aug 2021	Eurofox 912(1)	G-UFOX	Westonzoyland Airfield, Somerset	On approach to land the pilot applied extra power to reduce the rate of descent. The aircraft drifted right of the runway and into an adjacent field of crop, where it sustained damage to the landing gear and right wing.
04 Aug 2021	Cadet III Motor Glider	G-BNPF	Audley End Airfield, Essex	The right main landing gear collapsed following a firm touchdown.
04 Aug 2021	Team Mini-Max	G-MWHH	London Colney Aerodrome, St. Albans, Hertfordshire	While cruising at 1,200 ft the engine stopped and could not be restarted. The pilot headed towards Colney aerodrome but had insufficient height to reach the runway and the pilot carried out a forced landing in a wheat field. As the landing gear passed through the crop the aircraft decelerated rapidly and pitched onto its nose coming to rest inverted.
10 Aug 2021	RotorSport UK MTOsport	G-PALT	Beccles Airfield, Suffolk	The pilot reported that on takeoff the gyroplane suffered a retreating blade stall causing it to tip over onto its left side. It was extensively damaged and he suffered rib and lower leg injuries.