History of the Flight
On 31 October 2015 at 1200 hrs, a Jabiru UL (G-RYAL) was on approach to Runway 23 at Sandtoft Airfield, North Lincolnshire. The pilot had been flying for about 30 years, primarily on Piper PA-28, PA-38, Cessna 150, 152, and TB10 aircraft. He had recently purchased the home-built Jabiru UL and had logged 8 hours as pilot-in-command since then, including a 1.2-hour flight with the previous owner. He had not undertaken any flights in the aircraft with an instructor.
The pilot had experienced difficulties landing at his local farm strip of Coal Aston and had flown to Sandtoft. Two weeks later, he decided to carry out circuits at Sandtoft. The wind was from 230°, and he estimated the overcast cloud base at 700 ft. He took a passenger and briefed him to call out airspeed on final approach so the pilot could concentrate on touching down as early as possible. The pilot had experienced a lot of 'float' during landing and wanted the full runway length available.
The pilot commenced his approach to Runway 23, targeting an approach speed of 57 kt with full flap. Runway 23 has a 190 m displaced threshold, but the pilot was aiming to land at the beginning of the paved surface. He "got a bit low" during the approach and added power to climb. He then heard his passenger say "there's a lighting column" and felt an impact. CCTV captured the moment when the aircraft's tailplane struck a lamp post. The aircraft then pitched nose-down, hit a road, and slid about 35 m before coming to rest against the airfield perimeter fence. Both the pilot and passenger were seriously injured and were assisted by emergency services.
Pilot Comments
The pilot stated that he had been unaware of the lamp post and was unaware that the surface before a displaced threshold was not part of the landing surface. He was also unaware that displaced thresholds are often in place to ensure sufficient clearance from obstacles on the approach path.
Aircraft and Pilot Details
The aircraft was a Jabiru UL, registration G-RYAL, with one Jabiru 2200A piston engine. It was manufactured in 2000. The pilot held a National Private Pilot's Licence, was 85 years old, and had 440 hours total flying experience, with 9 hours on type. His flying in the last 90 days was 10 hours, and in the last 28 days, 4 hours.