Independent report

AAIB Record-only investigations reviewed: May - June 2024

Published 8 August 2024

This section provides details of accidents and incidents which were not subject to a Field or full Correspondence Investigation. They are wholly, or largely, based on information provided by the aircraft commander at the time of reporting and in some cases additional information from other sources. The accuracy of the information provided cannot be assured.

Event date

Aircraft Type

Registration

Location Name

Record Only Occurrence Text

24 Mar 24	Piper PA-38-112	G-RVRY	Liverpool Airport	In the final stages of a glide approach the instructor called for a go around because the aircraft was not correctly aligned with the runway. After repeating the instruction when the student didn’t respond, the instructor took control and initiated the go-around from “about 50-100 feet…and 60 kt” at which point the right wing dropped. As he corrected for this the left wingtip struck the runway, so he converted to a full stop landing. The instructor reflected that an earlier call to go around or intervening immediately after the first instruction might have prevented the incident.
30 Mar 24	Piper PA-28-181	G-KDHI	Nether Thorpe Airfield, South Yorkshire	Taking off with two stages of flap from a grass strip that was wet and soft, the aircraft “seemed to take longer to accelerate than normal”. The aircraft rotated at about 60 kt approximately 3/4 the way down the 553 m runway after which the stall warner sounded. The pilot lowered the nose but the aircraft undercarriage struck the airfield perimeter hedge and the aircraft came to stop in the adjacent field.
18 Apr 24	TL-3000 Sirius 600	G-NEEV	Old Park Farm Airstrip, Glamorgan	The pilot was returning from Haverfordwest Airfield to land at a private airstrip in Glamorgan where the aircraft was based. The pilot reported that the approach and initial touchdown on grass Runway 36 appeared normal but that the nose gear had then suddenly collapsed.
4 May 24	Jabiru J430	G-JABU	Cold Harbour Farm, Willingham, South Cambridgeshire	The aircraft, at close to its maximum takeoff weight, was taking off from a grass strip in light winds. The grass was cut to a medium length, but the end 20% of the strip was soggy due to continuous rain the previous day. When the aircraft encountered the soggy ground, it decelerated markedly so the pilot aborted the takeoff, but could not stop the aircraft overrunning into a ploughed field where it nosed over onto its back causing substantial damage.
6 May 24	Denney Kitfox Mk3	G–PPPP	Northcotes Airfield, Lincolnshire	During takeoff the right wing dropped when the aircraft was at a height of approximately 15 ft. The aircraft descended and landed heavily in a field causing the landing gear to collapse and damaging the propeller.
7 May 24	Aeroprakt A22 Foxbat	G-CHAD	Otherton Airfield, Staffordshire	The pilot reported that shortly after taking off from Runway 07, the engine suddenly stopped. The pilot decided to land in an adjacent field as the aircraft’s relatively low height and position precluded a turnback to the airfield. During the landing roll the nose gear collapsed.
10 May 24	Yak-18T	G-YAKJ	3 nm west of Settle, Yorkshire	During the flight, following an unsuccessful engine restart after a muffled “pop” and “immediate and complete power loss” at about 1,300 ft agl, the pilot selected a field which appeared to be “firm and smooth”. The main gear touched down first but the nose gear collapsed on contact with the ground, and then the aircraft pitched onto its back.
10 May 24	Jodel DR200 (Modified)	G-AYDZ	Enstone Airfield	After landing the aircraft entered an area of soft ground which caused the main wheels to dig in and the aircraft to become inverted.
11 May 24	Jodel D117A	G-BIOU	Hamilton Farm Airfield, Kent	The aircraft landed with a tailwind which resulted in a faster than normal groundspeed. The aircraft’s propeller struck the surface of the grass runway causing the aircraft to become inverted.
11 May 24	Jodel D112	G-BGWO	Eaglescott Airfield, Devon	Shortly after takeoff the aircraft’s engine suffered a power loss. The pilot landed the aircraft on the remaining runway but the touchdown was hard resulting in damage to the landing gear and propeller.
12 May 24	Mission M108	G-CLKY	Draycot Aerodrome, Wiltshire	During taxi the nose gear collapsed due to a failure of a weld.
17 May 24	Beech 76 Duchess	N800VM	Shobdon Airfield, Herefordshire	During takeoff a door came open and the pilot abandoned the takeoff. The aircraft could not be brought to a stop before it ran off the end of the runway, coming to rest after striking the boundary fence.
17 May 24	Agusta A109E	G-GDSG	Oxford Airport	The helicopter landed heavily during a practice autorotation which resulted in the nose landing gear collapsing.
18 May 24	Aeronca 11BC	G-BRCW	Eshott Airfield, Northumberland	During landing, the aircraft began to drift to the right but the pilot did not have enough airflow over the rudder to control the drift. He applied full power to regain directional control and go around but the right main landing gear caught on a low fence causing the aircraft to yaw right into the fence. The main landing gear collapsed and the propeller “disintegrated”. The pilot was unsure why directional control had been lost but considered it might have been a combination of accidentally-applied heel brake, a gust of wind and/or the right landing gear running into longer grass. He also commented that the runway was narrow, which meant there was little time to correct the drift before reaching the edge of the runway.
19 May 24	Piper PA-28-161	G-ENNA	Near Beccles Aerodrome, Suffolk	Whilst landing on Runway 09 with a crosswind from the left, the aircraft veered left and exited the runway, coming to rest in an adjacent field. The aircraft was undamaged, and the pilot was uninjured. The pilot considers that he braked heavily to stop within the asphalt section of the runway, and that he may have applied too much rudder to account for the crosswind, resulting in the loss of directional control.
20 May 24	Sling 4 TSI	G-HTSI	Balado Airfield, Perthshire	The aircraft bounced several times after landing which resulted in the collapse of the nose landing gear.
1 Jun 24	Europa	G-OJHL	Redhill Aerodrome, Surrey	The pilot reported that while preparing for landing at an unfamiliar landing site he forgot to lower the landing gear. The aircraft touched down and slid to a halt, breaking the propeller.
2 Jun 24	Pegasus Quik	G-YSMO	Sutton Meadows Airfield, Cambridgeshire	During takeoff, the pilot pushed the bar forward to lift off but, for reasons unknown, the aircraft “kicked” to the left. The nose landing gear collapsed as the aircraft passed over the lip of the intersecting runway. The aircraft slid over the intersecting runway on it nose and came to a halt in an adjacent field.
2 Jun 24	Ikarus C42 FB80	G-CECC	Little Gransden Airfield, Cambridgeshire	At about 150 ft after takeoff, the engine stopped. The pilot tried to restart engine without success, so landed ahead in a field. During landing, the nose landing gear caught in the crop and broke, and the aircraft turned onto its back.
3 Jun 24	Jodel D120A	G-BKCZ	Deanland Airfield, Sussex	The aircraft floated along the runway during landing and, after touchdown, the pilot began braking to avoid overrunning the runway and running into a hedge. The aircraft tipped forward onto its nose damaging the propeller.
9 Jun 24	Jabiru UL	G-BZEN	Southend Airport	The pilot reported that he made a normal approach to Runway 23 with the wind from right. On touch down the aircraft started to shimmy and then veered to the left onto the grass where the left main landing gear broke. The pilot believes that the left main wheel tyre burst on landing causing the loss of directional control on the ground.
12 Jun 24	Nipper T.66 RA45 Series 3	G-AWJE	Eddsfield Airfield, East Yorkshire	Shortly after take off the aircraft experienced a loss of engine power. The pilot conducted a forced landing straight ahead into a ploughed field where the aircraft then tipped upside down.
16 Jun 24	Jodel DR1050	G-ARXT	Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield	The aircraft landed heavily, tail first. As the aircraft was taxiing from the grass strip to tarmac the stern post came away from the fuselage.
16 Jun 24	Cessna 172P	G-MCLY	Priory Farm Airstrip, Norfolk	The final approach to the grass strip was turbulent. The pilot was aiming for his selected landing point beyond the runway threshold and was monitoring the speed when, at about 30-50 ft agl, the aircraft experienced sink. As the aircraft was close to the threshold, the pilot chose to continue with the approach rather than initiate a go-around. However, the mainwheels clipped the crop in a field about 5-10 m from the threshold, and then the side of a ditch close to the threshold. The aircraft pitched down “hard” onto the nose gear, which immediately collapsed followed by the left main gear.
29 Jun 24	Ikarus C42 FB80 Bravo	G-CHVY	Wadswick Airfield, Wiltshire	The aircraft experienced a hard landing which resulted in damage to the nose landing gear.