What happened
On 21 September 2015, an Ikarus C42 FB80, registration G-MRSS, was engaged in a training flight at Eshott Airfield. The flight was being conducted by a student pilot, a flex-wing instructor seeking to transition to 3-axis aircraft, under the supervision of an appropriately rated Assistant Flying Instructor.
Weather conditions at the time featured good visibility with winds from 265° at 7 knots, gusting to 11 knots. Following standard pre-flight and engine start procedures, the pilot taxied to the start of Runway 26 and configured the aircraft with the first stage of flaps.
During the takeoff roll, the instructor advised the pilot to maintain the control column slightly aft of neutral to facilitate nosewheel lift-off at flying speed. As the aircraft reached rotation speed, the nose rose excessively high. Although the pilot attempted to correct the pitch by pushing the column forward, the instructor intervened at approximately 50 feet to apply further forward pressure to regain airspeed. During this recovery attempt, the left wing dropped and the aircraft drifted left, eventually impacting a field adjacent to the runway. The impact resulted in damage to the landing gear and propeller, though there were no injuries to the two crew members.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report form provided by the pilot. Investigators examined the sequence of events during the takeoff roll and the subsequent aerodynamic behavior of the aircraft during the rotation phase.