What happened
On 13 March 2020, a Cessna 182RG, registration M-GOLF, was conducting a private flight from Ronaldsway Airport to a private airstrip at Mount Rule, Isle of Man. The flight carried one pilot and one passenger. Upon arrival at the grass runway, the pilot performed several circuits to familiarise himself with the terrain, which featured an uphill slope.
During the landing attempt on Runway 28, the pilot observed a horse near the end of the runway. This prompted the pilot to initiate a baulked landing. Simultaneously, the passenger noted that the aircraft had touched down further along the runway than intended. The pilot attempted to execute a go-around by advancing the throttle to full power and adjusting the flaps to 20 degrees. However, the aircraft failed to accelerate or climb as anticipated. As the aircraft reached the end of the runway, it struck farm gates before touching down in a nearby field, where it overturned and came to rest in an inverted position. There were no injuries to the occupants, but the aircraft was damaged beyond economical repair.
The investigation
Investigators examined the sequence of events leading to the impact with the farm gates. Evidence from a witness's video footage confirmed the aircraft touched down approximately halfway down the runway and remained on the ground for several seconds before the recording ended, at which point the aircraft was roughly 110 m from the runway threshold.
The investigation looked into the pilot's decision to abort the landing and the subsequent performance of the aircraft. The pilot noted that the engine power or the constant speed propeller may have malfunctioned, preventing the necessary acceleration and climb during the go-around attempt. It was also confirmed that the horse observed by the pilot was located in a field behind the closed farm gates that the aircraft subsequently struck.