Air accident at Engeløy Airfield, Norway, 6 June 2020 (LN-LZN)

Incident Overview On 6 June 2020, a private Cessna 172S (registration LN-LZN) was involved in an accident at Engeløy Airfield, Elvik, Nordland, Norway. The aircraft collided with a barbed-wire fence during takeoff. There were no injuries among the four people on board: the pilot-in-command and three passengers. The aircraft sustained damage to the left tailplane, elevator, and left main landing gear leg. The pilot-in-command was a 30-year-old male holding a commercial pilot license (CPL A) with a total of 234 flight hours, including 73 hours on the type. The flight was a VFR flight in visual meteorological conditions (VMC) under daylight conditions, with a south wind of 4 knots, good visibility, clear skies, a temperature of 18 °C, and QNH 994 hPa. The aircraft was operating at maximum takeoff mass of 1,157 kg (2,550 lb) with 83 liters (22 US gallons) of fuel on board. The Engeløy grass runway was 600 meters long, and the airfield had a concession as a landing site but no technical/operational approval, meaning no obstacle surface requirements applied. The operator of the airfield had published a warning on its website that rolling resistance could occasionally be high, particularly in April and June. The pilot had been aware of this information. ## Sequence of Events The pilot departed from Bodø Airport (ENBO) for Engeløy Airfield (ENEN) with three passengers. After approximately 30 minutes on Engeløya, he prepared to return to Bodø without refueling. During takeoff from runway 05, the pilot set flaps to 10°. He realized too late on the runway that he did not have sufficient speed to take off and too little runway remaining to abort the takeoff. The speed was approximately 40 knots, 15 knots below the normal takeoff speed, with about 100 meters to the runway end. The pilot raised the nose slightly in an attempt to increase acceleration. Just before the aircraft struck trees and bushes ahead, he pulled back aggressively on the stick. After passing the runway end, he pushed the stick forward to avoid stalling the aircraft. At approximately 200 feet, the aircraft accelerated to 80 knots, and the pilot retracted the flaps. He reported feeling positive control of the aircraft and saw no indications requiring a return to Engeløy. He continued climbing to 1,500 feet toward Bodø. ## Post-Accident Actions The pilot informed air traffic control of the incident and requested an overflight of the Bodø runway to visually inspect for potential landing gear damage. A flight instructor, who was responsible for a student pilot on his first solo flight in the landing circuit at Bodø, took over the student's aircraft to inspect LN-LZN. The instructor and student joined the pilot and observed barbed wire hanging from the left tailplane and visible damage to the left main landing gear, which the instructor did not consider critical. The pilot continued his approach and landed at Bodø without problems. Post-landing inspection confirmed damage to the left tailplane, elevator, and left main landing gear, primarily caused by fence posts and the barbed wire attached to them.