What happened
On 30 June 2016, an Ikarus C42 FB80, registration G-CDRO, was performing solo circuits at Popham Airfield in Hampshire. The pilot, who had recently completed a check flight with an instructor after a ten-month hiatus from flying, had successfully completed three circuits without issue.
During the fourth circuit, the pilot received a radio transmission from an air/ground radio operator inquiring about the aircraft's position. This communication caused a momentary distraction. Upon refocusing, the pilot noted that the aircraft was approaching the runway with insufficient airspeed and an excessive height. In response, the pilot initiated a go-around procedure. During this maneuver, the aircraft bounced off the runway surface before successfully climbing away.
Upon returning to land, the nose landing gear collapsed. There were no injuries to the pilot, and the aircraft sustained damage to the nose landing gear leg.
The investigation
The investigation examined the sequence of events leading to the gear failure and the impact of the radio communication on the pilot's flight path. The AAIB established that the aircraft's nose landing gear leg had likely sustained structural damage during the initial ground contact during the bounced landing attempt.