What happened
On September 21, 2002, a Murphy Rebel, registration G-BZFT, was conducting a flight at La Axarquía Aerodrome in Málaga for the purpose of a pilot competency check prior to a license renewal. The flight involved a pilot in command and a checking pilot acting as copilot.
During the flight, the crew agreed that the checking pilot would perform the initial landing to demonstrate a two-point landing technique. During the approach, the checking pilot executed a defective flare-out, resulting in the aircraft being too high and making a hard contact with the runway. This impact caused the aircraft to bounce back into the air. As the aircraft bounced, the right wing descended and the aircraft began to turn. Following a second contact with the runway, the aircraft veered off the runway strip, crossed the surrounding area, and entered an irrigation ditch before ultimately crashing into the aerodrome's perimeter fence.
The investigation
The investigation established that the aircraft sustained significant damage, including a split nose fuselage, a damaged left wing trailing edge, and a bent left main landing gear leg. The aerodrome's perimeter fence also sustained damage. The crew reported that the sequence of events was initiated by the improper flare-out maneuver. The investigation also noted a significant disparity in flight experience between the two occupants; while the checking pilot possessed 14,000 total flight hours, he had less than two hours of experience on this specific aircraft type.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was a defective flare-out during the landing phase, which led to a hard landing and subsequent loss of control.
- The limited experience of the checking pilot on the Murphy Rebel type may have contributed to the sequence of events.