What happened
On 13 April 2016, a CZAW SportCruimser, registration G-OCRZ, was returning to the pilot's home airstrip for a landing following a brief midday flight. The weather conditions were clear with good visibility and a light south-westerly breeze. As the pilot joined the circuit for an approach to Runway 23, he lined up on a yellowish strip of land located to the south of the actual runway.
Believing this strip was the intended landing surface, the pilot performed what appeared to be a smooth touchdown. However, the strip was actually an uncultivated area of rough ground. Upon contact with the uneven surface, the nose leg of the aircraft detached and the propeller struck the ground. The impact caused the left main landing gear to collapse, leaving the aircraft resting on its nose and left wing. There were no injuries to the pilot, who was able to exit the aircraft without difficulty.
The investigation
The investigation examined the visual characteristics of the airfield and the pilot's approach path. It was noted that the actual Runway 23 was a similar colour to the green crop on the north side of the strip, whereas the uncultivated area on the south side presented a contrasting yellowish colour and a shape that mimicked a runway. The pilot noted that during the approach, his focus was on maintaining a smooth landing, which led him to accept the visual identification of the strip without further scrutiny.
Findings
- The pilot misidentified the runway due to the visual similarity of the uncultivated strip to a landing surface.
- The pilot experienced confirmation bias, where he subconsciously processed visual information to support his initial, incorrect assumption that the yellowish strip was the runway.
- Because the pilot was not expecting the actual runway to be located to the right of his approach path, he failed to notice the real runway during the final stages of the flight.