Independent report

AAIB Record-only investigations reviewed: July – August 2022

Published 13 October 2022

Event Date	Aircraft Type	Registration	Location Name	Record Only Occurrence Text
27 Feb 2022	Eurofox 914	G-CIBF	The Airfield, Milfield, Northumberland	The pilot had completed nine glider tugs as the ‘duty tug pilot’ and was returning for his final landing of the day. He reported a wind of 15-18 kt on final approach and conditions which were gustier than his previous approaches that morning. Before touchdown the left wing dropped unexpectedly, causing the left main wheel to touch down abruptly. The nose then dropped and the propeller contacted the ground, stopping the aircraft suddenly and causing significant damage.
01 Mar 2022	Ikarus C42 FB UK	G-CDCO	Peterlee Airfield, County Durham	The aircraft veered off the runway during landing, damaging the landing gear and fuselage.
16 May 2022	Guimbal Cabri G2	G-TOOO	Houghton on the Hill, Leicester	Whilst on a training flight the left engine cowl opened and was severed by the main rotor. The commander reported no handling difficulties and a precautionary landing was carried out without further incident.
27 May 2022	Aeroprakt A22 Foxbat	G-CBYH	Popham Airfield, Hampshire	The aircraft landed heavily, resulting in the nose landing gear collapsing rearward and the propellor striking the ground.
01 Jun 2022	Groppo Trail Mk2	G-SMLZ	Old Warden Airfield, Bedfordshire	The aircraft experienced a violent swing to the right after touchdown, so the pilot applied full power and aborted the landing. The aircraft pitched up steeply, the left wing then dropped and struck the ground. The aircraft rotated onto its right wing and came to rest on its right side. The pilot reflected that an unexpectedly strong gust of wind likely caused the initial swing on touchdown. He was surprised by the rapidity of the pitch up.
02 Jun 2022	Cessna F150H	G-AWOT	Eshott Airfield, Northumberland	The student pilot was completing a solo cross country flight. The aircraft landed long, ran off the end of the runway and struck a fence. The pilot reported that fatigue might have been a factor. The aircraft suffered damage to the propeller, shock-loading of engine and slight damage to the left landing gear leg.
12 Jun 2022	Piper PA-28-180	G-GBRB	Near Netherthorpe Airfield, Nottinghamshire	Shortly after takeoff the relatively heavy aircraft encountered turbulent air. The pilot reported that he lowered the nose to maintain airspeed, and descended and landed in a nearby field. The aircraft was substantially damaged.
21 Jun 2022	Piper PA-28-180	G-RVNX	Liverpool Airport	After being slightly high on the approach, the aircraft touched down firmly and bounced. It initially veered to the left, before departing to the right of the runway and the nose landing gear collapsed. The pilot considered that the approach could have been more stable and that he may have over-corrected when the aircraft veered left after touchdown.
23 Jun 2022	Sherwood Scout	G-OUAV	Popham Airfield, Hampshire	The pilot struggled to maintain a stable approach and during the subsequent go-around the left landing gear leg struck the ground heavily and the gear leg detached. The pilot has now ceased flying the aircraft which he found difficult to handle during landing.
26 Jun 2022	Robinson R44 II	G-CIMZ	Chalvington, East Sussex	The helicopter rolled over to the right on takeoff, probably because it had drifted right while the right skid was in contact with the ground. The helicopter was substantially damaged.
27 Jun 2022	EC155 B1	G-HCNX	Sandown Airport, Isle of Wight	As G-HCNX hover taxied to a pre-agreed parking location, its downwash lifted the right wing of a Cessna 172 parked approximately 30 m downwind. The Cessna’s left wing struck the ground, causing a visible crease in its outboard leading edge. The helicopter pilot stated that greater consideration could have been given to the prevailing wind when parking.
09 Jul 2022	Vans RV-6A	G-RVEE	Eshott Airfield, Northumberland	The pilot reported that he flared early and the subsequent heavy contact with the runway caused the nose gear strut to deform. The aircraft then veered off the side of the runway into long grass and tipped over. The pilot stated that he was distracted by a fence and lack of chevron marking at the runway threshold which contributed to his early flare.
10 Jul 2022	DA 40	G-SFLY	Oaksey Park Airfield, Wiltshire	Just after touch down, the aircraft bounced, so the pilot attempted to initiate a go-around and applied full power. The aircraft rapidly veered right towards a line of trees. The pilot was unable to react in time before the aircraft collided with the trees, and eventually came to a stop as it struck a nearby hangar. The aircraft was severely damaged.
10 Jul 2022	Groppo Trail	G-TRLL	Sleap Airfield, Shropshire	During a landing on Runway 36 in benign weather conditions, the aircraft “swung violently left” on touchdown. The pilot tried to correct, but the aircraft swung right and then left, and tipped onto its nose as it came to a halt. The pilot stated that the approach and flare were normal, and he was unable to explain the cause of the loss of control as no issues were found during a subsequent inspection of the aircraft.
11 Jul 2022	DHC-1 Chipmunk 22 (Lycoming)	G-BBSS	Husbands Bosworth Airfield, Leicestershire	After completing an aerotow flight, the aircraft was being taxied through a 20 m gap between a set of wing trestles and a glider trailer when the aircraft’s right wingtip struck the trailer. The pilot considered that his angle of approach to the gap left him only partially sighted on the trailer and his attention had been primarily focused on avoiding the trestles. He reflected that the incident might have been avoided if he had taxied more slowly and weaved in a more exaggerated manner to improve forward visibility.
16 Jul 2022	Pulsar	G-LWNG	Carlisle Airport	The pilot misjudged the final approach due to a problem with the throttle and the aircraft landed heavily on its nose landing gear which collapsed.
16 Jul 2022	Jodel D117A	G-AYXP	Lane Farm Airfield, Powys	During the landing rollout, some deer crossed the aircraft’s path. In steering to avoid them the right wing of the aircraft struck a fence which spun the aircraft round resulting in damage to both wings and the landing gear.
18 Jul 2022	Aero AT-3 R100	G-SBRK	Gloucestershire Airport	During the final approach the aircraft began to oscillate in pitch. On touchdown the nose landing gear collapsed and the aircraft slewed to the left side of the runway.
21 Jul 2022	Beech C23	G-BASN	Compton Abbas Airfield, Dorset	The pilot was flying his third approach to Runway 08, having gone around on the two previous approaches due to being too high and fast. He reported being a little high on the third approach, and bounced on landing causing the nose landing gear to detach.
23 Jul 2022	Pegasus Quantum 15-912	G-CCWW	Caunton Airfield, Nottinghamshire	On landing the flexwing microlight left the side of the runway and sustained damage.
28 Jul 2022	Rearwin 8125 Cloudster	G-EVLE	RAF Marham, Norfolk	On touchdown in a moderate crosswind the pilot was unable to control a significant right yaw with full left rudder. When he also applied left brake the aircraft pitched over onto its back. The pilot found it challenging to apply the heel-operated disc brakes with full rudder. During recovery the brake was found seized and had probably caused the accident. Note: The final sentence of this report was added prior to publication. This was reflected online at publication and as an addendum in the November Bulletin.
28 Jul 2022	Mainair Blade	G-RINN	Headon, Nottinghamshire	The aircraft lost airspeed during the final stages of the approach and landed heavily, bending the front strut and keel.
05 Aug 2022	Cessna 152	G-BNSN	Denham Aerodrome, Buckinghamshire	Whilst taxiing, the aircraft’s right landing gear collapsed.
07 Aug 2022	Wittman W8 Tailwind	G-ZIPY	Bolt Head Airfield, Devon	During the final stages of the approach to a coastal farm strip, the aircraft experienced sink, possibly due to windshear. The pilot applied power but was unable to arrest the rate of descent and the underside of the aircraft struck a fence near the runway threshold. This caused the aircraft to tip forward and it skidded along the runway on the propeller spinner and main landing gear. Given the proximity of the fence to the threshold, the pilot considered that, aiming to touchdown on the runway numbers had reduced his options when he encountered sink during the approach.
08 Aug 2022	Jabiru UL	G-BYJD	Carlisle Airport, Cumbria	After landing, and at a speed of 20-30 kt, the aircraft began to shimmy and it departed the runway onto the grass. The propeller, nose gear and wing were damaged.
08 Aug 2022	Sherwood Scout	G-CLAK	Membury Airfield, Berkshire	The aircraft suffered a hard landing which resulted in the nose landing gear collapsing and damage to the right main landing gear and propeller.
10 Aug 2022	Guimbal Cabri G2	G-SDTL	Goodwood Aerodrome, West Sussex	Having completed a circuit with an instructor, the student was to complete his second solo flight in the helicopter. He lifted into the hover and began a pedal turn to the left during which a rapid rate of yaw to the left developed. The helicopter completed two complete 360° turns before striking the ground on its right side causing significant damage to the helicopter.
13 Aug 2022	Skyranger 912(2)	G-CCEH	Cae Mawr Airfield, Gwynedd	The pilot was making his approach to Runway 03. As he reduced power to land, the aircraft suddenly dropped and clipped a hedge which caused the aircraft to land heavily. The pilot suspected that he had experienced windshear.
13 Aug 2022	EV-97 Eurostar Microlight	G-CJJA	Eshott Airfield, Northumberland	The pilot lost control of the aircraft under “hard” braking after landing long in light wind. The aircraft turned right and exited the runway, coming to rest after it struck the airfield boundary fence and hedge. The pilot stated that “subconsciously I was probably too keen to do a successful landing” and in hindsight should have gone around.
19 Aug 2022	Cessna F172M	G-OAFA	Middle Wallop Airfield, Hampshire	The student pilot was flying solo. On landing the aircraft bounced twice and on the third touchdown the nosewheel broke away. The propeller was damaged when it struck the ground and the left wing spar was bent when the the wing touched the ground.
19 Aug 2022	Z-526F Trener	OE-CSA	Breighton Airfield, East Riding of Yorkshire	After landing, and while taxiing to the park area, the pilot reported that he lost directional control of his aircraft and struck an unoccupied parked aircraft causing substantial damage to both aircraft.
24 Aug 2022	Piper PA-28-180	G-HRYZ	Great Oakley Airfield, Essex	The aircraft bounced three times during the landing and the nose gear, together with the propeller and engine mounts, sustained damage.
28 Aug 2022	Piper PA-28-161	G-CDDG	Compton Abbas Airfield, Dorset	G-CDDG was being ground-manoeuvred by the pilot using a handling bar when the wing contacted and damaged the rudder of an unoccupied aircraft.
31 Aug 2022	Rotorsport UK MTOsport	G-CJTA	Rufforth Airfield, North Yorkshire	The aircraft suffered a suspected bird strike during takeoff which resulted in a loss of control, a tail strike and then a heavy landing on the nosewheel. The aircraft suffered substantial damage.