What happened
On 17 February 2019, an Aero AT-3 R100, registration G-SACW, was performing a training flight at Sherburn-in-Elmet Aerodrome in North Yorkshire. During the takeoff roll on the grass runway, the aircraft encountered a hump in the runway surface while traveling at approximately 40 knots. This irregularity caused the aircraft to become airborne before reaching its required flying speed.
In an attempt to manage the flight profile while below the necessary airspeed, the pilot slightly reduced the pitch attitude. However, the nose of the aircraft continued to descend. Upon making contact with the runway surface, the nosewheel assembly detached from the aircraft. The aircraft subsequently came to a halt, and the pilot shut down the engine. There were no injuries to the pilot or the single passenger on board.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of events during the takeoff roll and the impact of the runway surface conditions. The examination established that the aircraft's nosewheel, nose landing gear, propeller, and the fuselage skin beneath the engine sustained damage during the incident.