History of the Flight
The pilot, aged 79, held a Private Pilot's Licence and had 387 hours total flying experience, with 347 hours on type. On 13 June 2018, he planned to fly with a passenger from Leicester to Skegness for a day trip. He telephoned Skegness Airfield before departure and received permission to land, but was informed that no air-to-ground radio would be operating that day. Having visited before, he decided to proceed.
Upon arrival overhead Skegness, the pilot could not see the ground markings for his chosen runway, the longer grass strip oriented 030° and 210°. After two level circuits at 1,000 ft agl, neither occupant could identify the runway markings. He then elected to use the shorter, east-west orientated strip, which was visible.
The pilot initially reported the landing runway designation as '03', but later stated it was actually '11'. He performed a left-hand circuit for Runway 11 at 1,000 ft agl and turned onto final approach at 700 ft agl. During the approach, he realised he would land far down the runway and initiated a go-around. During this manoeuvre, the aircraft struck a hedge beyond the departure end of the runway, and foliage became attached to the airframe.
The pilot reported difficulty maintaining control and preventing a stall. He turned the aircraft right, with difficulty, to avoid a caravan park, entering a non-standard right-hand circuit over clear ground for Runway 11. He stated the aircraft would only stay airborne with full power. Rudder and elevator operated normally, but ailerons felt strange.
Due to the high power setting, G-USSY touched down at approximately 90 KIAS. Brakes seemed ineffective. Approaching the end of the runway, the pilot shut down the engine and told the passenger to brace. To avoid trees in the previously struck hedge, he slewed the aircraft to the right. The aircraft came to rest in the hedge, blocking the doors. The occupants remained inside for about 15 minutes until others arrived and opened the luggage hatch.
Runway Designation
The pilot noted that runway choice was a factor, as winds appeared more westerly than originally thought. Before the flight, he accessed runway information on the Skegness Airfield website, which described runways as '03/21 799m x 23m' and '11/29 650m x 23m' with circuit directions: '03/11 LH - 21/29 RH'.
Conclusion
The description of runways and circuit directions on the website may have caused confusion over runway designations. Since the accident, Skegness Airfield stated it intends to modify its website to emphasise runway designations.