What happened
On 4 August 2024, a Boeing A7s, registration G-PTBA, was conducting a private flight to Lundy Island in North Devon to attend a fly-in event. During the landing phase on Runway 24, the pilot executed a three-point landing on the left side of the grass runway, choosing that area because the surface appeared smoother than the right side.
As the aircraft touched down, it drifted toward the left edge of the runway. During the landing roll, the left main landing gear leg struck a white-painted rock used as a runway edge marker. The force of this impact caused the left main landing gear leg to shear off and detach from the airframe. The detached component then struck the underside of the left lower wing. The impact caused the aircraft to slew off the runway surface. There were no injuries to the pilot or the single passenger on board, and both were able to exit the aircraft without assistance.
The investigation
The investigation examined the aircraft, the airfield conditions, and the pilot's observations. Lundy Island Airstrip is a grass runway approximately 400 m long and 50 m wide, where the edges are demarcated by white-painted rocks placed at roughly 10 m intervals.
The pilot noted that while the aircraft was in the flared, three-point landing attitude, there was a significant reduction in forward and peripheral visual references. This lack of visual cues made it difficult to monitor the aircraft's position relative to the runway edge markers during the critical moments of touchdown.