History of the Flight
The pilot flew the aircraft from its base at Abbots Bromley Airfield to Shifnal Airfield, a distance of about 20 nm. The weather was fine, with light and variable wind, good visibility and no low cloud. Pre-flight preparations and checks were normal. After a short local flight at Abbots Bromley, the pilot landed, then telephoned Shifnal to book his visit.
On arrival overhead Shifnal, the wind favoured Runway 10, a grass runway 445 m long. The circuit height for all runways was 500 ft. Published information indicated that power lines, 30 ft above ground level, crossed the approach to Runway 10. The pilot found it difficult to discern them among adjacent trees; measurements using satellite imagery placed the power lines approximately 120 m short of the runway threshold. Trees also blocked the pilot's view of the runway.
During the first approach, after clearing the power lines and seeing the runway, the pilot side-slipped the aircraft at idle throttle to lose height, mindful of the runway length, light wind and the absence of wing flaps. At a relatively low airspeed of 50 kt, a high rate of descent developed quickly, and the aircraft contacted the ground harder than intended. It bounced, and the pilot applied power and flew a go-around.
The second approach also involved late sighting of the runway. The pilot was too displaced from the runway to continue and again went around, opting to fly a right-hand circuit.
While turning the aircraft onto base leg, the pilot noticed the controls became less responsive and realised the aircraft was close to stalling. He lowered the nose and applied some power, but this did not improve the situation. The left wing dropped suddenly, and the aircraft impacted the ground soon after.
The aircraft came to rest upright. The pilot made the aircraft switches safe before vacating through the partially opened door. He observed that the aircraft's normally docile flight characteristics had probably given him the false impression that it would always be so forgiving.
Damage
The aircraft sustained damage to the outboard left wing, fuselage panels, windscreen and propeller.
AAIB Comment
Visual circuits are typically flown at about 1,000 ft agl, and the pilot was used to flying at that height. Unless pilots are accustomed to flying from an airfield with a permanently lower circuit height (as at Shifnal), the challenges of a low-level or 'bad weather' circuit may not be readily apparent. One problem may be maintaining visual contact with the runway environment, especially if the pilot descends at a normal descent point instead of maintaining height until intercepting the normal approach path. The pilot's account of achieving very late visual contact with the runway suggests that this may have happened in this case. It is also likely that the aircraft's left wing stalled, the wing drop probably being due to the use of ailerons near the stall.