Synopsis
On 22 July 2016 at 1930 UTC, a private flight returned to Redlands Airfield, Wiltshire, in an Ikarus C42 FB80 (G-SARM), equipped with one Rotax 912-UL piston engine. The pilot, a 41-year-old National Private Pilot’s Licence holder with 126 hours total flying experience (16 hours on type, 7 hours in the last 90 days, and 5 hours in the last 28 days), was the sole occupant. While on base leg for Runway 24 North, he noticed cattle near the runway. He extended his base leg to land on the parallel but shorter Runway 24 South. On final approach, he decided to touch down as near to the threshold as possible to maximize the available runway. As the aircraft approached the threshold, the sink rate became higher than expected. The aircraft touched down, bounced, and then struck the runway heavily on the nose landing gear, which detached. The aircraft sustained moderate damage to the engine cowling and propeller; the nose landing gear detached. The pilot vacated the aircraft unaided and sustained minor injuries.
History of the Flight
The aircraft joined downwind for Runway 24 North. On turning to base leg, the pilot observed cattle close to the runway and extended his base leg to use Runway 24 South. During finals, he made the decision to land as near to the threshold as possible. As the aircraft neared the threshold, he felt it sink more quickly than expected and prepared for a hard landing. He attempted to 'hold off' by raising the nose, but the aircraft landed and bounced. The nose dropped and hit the runway, overloading the nose landing gear, which detached. The aircraft came to a stop, and the pilot vacated unaided with minor injuries.
Discussion
In the pilot's own analysis after the accident, he considered the cause to be that he did not react to the increased sink rate in time. He also noted that applying full throttle to go around, rather than attempting to correct the bounce, might have prevented the nose-hard landing.