What happened
On June 17, 2014, a Piper PA-28-140, registration LN-LMB, was conducting training landings at Ski Airport in Norway. The pilot, who had recently undergone retraining after a seven-month hiatus from flying, had successfully completed several landings earlier in the day. During a subsequent landing attempt on the grass runway, the aircraft approached the threshold at an excessive height. To compensate for this altitude, the pilot initiated a steeper descent.
As the aircraft reached the final approach, the pilot maintained a speed of 75 mph with full flaps, rather than the recommended 65 mph. The transition to level flight was initiated too late, causing the aircraft to strike the ground with significant force. The impact caused the aircraft to bounce, leading to a second hard contact with the runway. Upon taxiing to the parking area, the pilot discovered damage to the nose gear strut, the propeller, and the engine mounts.
The investigation
The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority (NSIA) examined the flight path and the aircraft's mechanical state. The investigation established that the nose and main landing gear struck the ground almost simultaneously at a point 275 meters down the runway. Evidence of propeller strikes was found both at the initial impact point and 45 meters further down the runway. The investigation also reviewed the pilot's flight experience and the specific operational constraints of the grass runway, which prohibits touch-and-go maneuvers.
Findings
- The pilot failed to initiate the flare in a timely manner, leading to an inadequate leveling of the aircraft before touchdown.
- The approach speed was higher than the recommended 65 mph.
- The pilot utilized a steeper descent angle to correct for excessive altitude, which complicated the flare process.
- A decision-making error occurred when the pilot chose to continue the approach despite the aircraft being too high on final approach, rather than executing a go-around.
- The pilot's reaction to the first bounce—lowering the nose instead of maintaining a stabilized attitude—resulted in the second hard impact.