Independent report

AAIB Record-only investigations reviewed: May - June 2023

Published 10 August 2023

Event Date	Aircraft Type	Registration	Location Name	Record Only Occurrence Text
30 Jun 2023	Mooney M20E	N7423V	Andrewsfield Airfield, Essex	During a forced landing following a loss of power shortly after takeoff, the landing gear collapsed and the aircraft passed through a fence onto a public road.
26 Jun 2023	Jabiru UL-450	G-ICDM	Sandown Airport, Isle Of Wight, Hampshire	Control was lost during the landing and the aircraft came to rest in rough ground to the side of the runway.
22 Jun 2023	Flylight Adam	G-NWRD	Lower Upham Farm, Wiltshire	Just before landing, the aircraft became unstable which resulted in a hard touchdown and then it tipped onto its left side.
22 Jun 2023	Rans S6-ES	G-CETY	Felthorpe Airfield, Norwich	The aircraft bounced during landing. The nose gear collapsed and the aircraft became inverted.
17 Jun 2023	Robinson R22 BETA	G-TGRD	Llangoed Hall Country Hotel, Brecon, Powys	Following an uneventful approach, the helicopter was hover-taxiing to the helicopter landing pad when the low rpm warner sounded, and the helicopter started spinning. The pilot lowered the collective lever and landed heavily. The cause of the accident is believed to be a loss of engine power.
16 Jun 2023	Skyranger 912(2)	G-SKRA	Bellevue airfield, North Devon	During landing in a slight crosswind, the aircraft drifted to the left, the left wing and main landing gear struck the ground and the aircraft tipped forward onto its nose. The aircraft sustained significant damage.
13 Jun 2023	Rotorsport UK Mtosport	G-CGDC	Beccles Aerodrome, Suffolk	During landing the aircraft rolled to the right and slid to a halt on its side. The pilot could not recall whether the aircraft bounced on first touchdown or whether the left landing gear just lifted from the ground. The pilot exited with only minor injuries.
11 Jun 2023	EV-97 Teameurostar UK	G-MPAT	Chesham, Buckinghamshire	On final approach to Runway 33 the pilot observed the airfield windsock hanging vertically. The aircraft touched down further along the runway than normal and, despite the efforts of the pilot, the aircraft struck a hedge and fence at the end airfield. The aircraft sustained damage to the right wing, propeller and fuselage. After leaving the aircraft the pilot saw the windsock was now indicating a wind of between 5 and 7 kt at 150°.
10 Jun 2023	Zenair CH 601HD	G-CDDS	Weybourne Airfield, Norfolk	After landing the nose landing gear bungee failed, which caused the nose landing gear to collapse. The nose of the aircraft was damaged and the propeller struck the ground.
05 Jun 2023	912 Tanarg Microlight	F-JYEZ	Strathaven Airfield, East Kilbride	The pilot misjudged his takeoff run and the aircraft hit a fence. The wing detached and all the propeller blades suffered damage.
01 Jun 2023	Colomban MC-15 CRI-CRI	G-SHOG	Near Fifehead Magdalen, Dorset	At 400 ft, the left engine stopped and, with an inability to maintain altitude, the pilot made a forced landing in a field. However, he didn’t notice a hump in the grass, and the aircraft bounced. During the subsequent, heavy touchdown, the pilot’s head shattered the canopy and the landing gear suffered some damage.
28 May 2023	DHC-1 Chipmunk 22 (Lycoming)	G-BVZZ	Middle Wallop Airfield, Hampshire	While taxiing to clear the grass runway after landing, the tailwheel aircraft struck the runway marker sign situated at the edge of the peritrack, causing significant damage to the underside of the aircraft.
25 May 2023	Campbell Cricket	G-AXVM	A few miles from Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport	The engine cut out at around 1,400 ft. During the subsequent forced landing in a field the rotor blades suffered damage.
20 May 2023	Champion 7GCBC Citabria	G-CONR	Magellan point, County Derry	During a landing on a beach, the aircraft nosed over and suffered substantial damage when it encountered a patch of soft sand in the last half of the rollout.
20 May 2023	Skyranger 582(1)	G-RHAM	Baxby Airfield, North Yorkshire	Shortly before the runway, the aircraft’s main wheels caught the top of a hedge which pitched the aircraft down, and it landed on the nose gear which then collapsed.
18 May 2023	Piper PA-28-181	G-YANK	Kingstanding Airfield, Oxfordshire	The runway profile prevented the pilot from seeing the end of the runway and the aircraft landed long. Despite braking the aircraft left the runway, travelled across the grass and struck a hedge at slow speed. The engine was shock loaded and one wingtip was damaged.
15 May 2023	Mooney M20K	G-GCKI	Welshpool Airport, Powys	The aircraft bounced on landing and veered off the runway onto the grass. The propeller was bent and the nose and right landing gear collapsed.
14 May 2023	Sherwood Ranger ST	G-YELP	Popham Airfield, Hampshire	Shortly after touchdown the aircraft started to turn to the right. The right main gear subsequently collapsed and the aircraft came to rest with the right wingtip on the ground. The right gear leg had lost a bolt that holds the wheel assembly to the gear bracing struts.
14 May 2023	Pegasus Quik	G-CDPD	Harringe Court Airstrip, Ashford, Kent	The aircraft was caught by a gust of wind during landing causing it to leave the runway, enter the long grass and turn over. The pilot received minor injuries. There was damage to the aircraft’s wing and propeller.
27 Apr 2023	Rockwell Commander 112	G-BDIE	Turweston Aerodrome, Northamptonshire	After a normal landing the left main landing gear retracted. The locking pin had seized inside the gear extension cylinder preventing the piston from locking in the down position. Normally this would be indicated to the pilot by the gear unsafe light, but the microswitch for this had failed so it was showing green.
23 Apr 2023	Pitts S-1S	G-VOOM	Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire	The pilot lost directional control whilst landing on a concrete runway, with a 12 kt crosswind component from the right. Despite application of full left brake and left rudder, the aircraft yawed to the right during the landing roll before nosing over, coming to rest inverted. The pilot was experienced on type and commented that if he had been given clearance to land on the parallel grass runway, or an available into-wind grass runway, the accident was unlikely to have occurred.
19 Apr 2023	Robinson R44 II	G-JINT	Gloucestershire Airport	On startup, the helicopter spun around twice while on the ground. The pilot, who was secured in a five-point harness, turned the throttle off and mixture to lean which brought the helicopter to a standstill. The pilot was uninjured and stated that he could not be sure of his feet position on the pedals during start. He did not consider the helicopter was overpowered at start, but has since purchased an additional weight for solo flights and is more aware of his feet position during engine start.