What happened
On 16 July 2018, a Jabiru Ul-450, registration G-JUDD, was conducting a training flight at Clench Common Airfield in Wiltshire. The flight was a conversion training session involving a student pilot and an experienced instructor.
During the flight, the student had performed several successful landings. While attempting an approach on Runway 26, the aircraft encountered a light wind component. Upon initial contact with the runway, the aircraft bounced. Following the bounce, the instructor advised the student to maintain the aircraft's attitude to facilitate a second touchdown. However, during the subsequent landing, the aircraft struck the runway flat on all three undercarriage legs. This impact caused the failure of the nose leg and resulted in damage to the firewall and the lower cowling.
There were no injuries to the two crew members or the one passenger on board.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. The inquiry examined the sequence of the landing and the pilot's response to the initial bounce. The investigation established that the instructor, in retrospect, believed a go-around should have been initiated immediately following the first bounce rather than attempting to continue the approach.
Findings
- The primary cause of the damage was the impact of the aircraft landing flat on all three landing gear legs.
- The nose leg failed due to the force of the second touchdown.
- The instructor's decision to attempt a second touchdown rather than performing a go-around contributed to the severity of the landing.