History of the Flight
The student pilot, aged 61 with 62 hours of flying experience, planned a solo navigation exercise as preparation for his qualifying cross-country flight. His instructor had flown circuits with him earlier that day, during which the pilot encountered turbulence on the first approach to Runway 21 but made a successful landing after adjusting to a higher approach and longer landing. Satisfied with his performance, the instructor allowed him to fly solo.
The navigation exercise to Grimsby and back was uneventful. About an hour after departure, the pilot re-entered the circuit at Gamston using a deadside overhead join. He intended to make a high final approach and land long, as practiced. On final approach, he reported that his approach and height felt good, with flaps set to 20°, and he did not experience turbulence or crosswind. He remembered seeing an aircraft holding short at holding point Bravo. Thereafter, his recollection became poor. He later recalled a “tremendous force” hitting the side of the aircraft and tipping it over, and despite full yoke and rudder input, he could not control the aircraft, followed by a sense of cartwheeling.
The aircraft struck the ground to the left of the runway. The pilot was seriously injured and transported to hospital by air ambulance.
Eyewitness Accounts
Three witnesses provided differing accounts. The pilot of the aircraft holding at Bravo saw a “mighty gust of wind lift the right wing,” then the pilot added full power with flap extended, the aircraft turned left 180° in a tight space and stalled. The A/G radio operator reported a normal approach until at about 60-70 ft agl the left wing stalled and the aircraft entered a spin. The instructor, who had sent the pilot solo, observed the approach as stable to 100 ft agl, then the aircraft pitched up “violently” to a nose-high attitude before banking “violently to the left” and entering a steep spiral descent or spin. He was confident the nose pitched up first. Neither eyewitness recalled seeing helicopters shortly beforehand, and the instructor noted no issues with helicopter wake turbulence in his two years at Gamston.
Accident Site and Investigation
A loss adjuster examined the accident site and reported the aircraft appeared to have hit the ground vertically in a steep nose-down attitude. Flight controls were checked and no defects found. The left flap was down, right flap up, and the flap selector was up but the indicator showed 30°. Investigators concluded the flap mechanism was likely damaged in the impact, and the asymmetry found would have caused a right roll, not the left roll observed, so pre-impact flap position could not be determined.
Meteorological Conditions
Wind was not recorded at Gamston. Nearby airfields reported winds around 12-13 kt from 240-250°, with gusts less than 10 kt above mean. The air ambulance pilot, who landed near the accident site about six minutes later, described conditions as “bouncy and blustery” with “turbulence across the runway,” estimating wind at 15 kt gusting 20-25 kt on approach.
Recorded Data
GPS data from the pilot’s SkyDemon track log showed approach groundspeed from 500 ft agl to the paved surface between 56 and 61 kt, equating to an airspeed of 66-71 kt with a 10 kt headwind (normal approach speed 55-65 KIAS). Over the runway numbers, groundspeed was 59 kt at 83 ft amsl (runway elevation 82 ft). As the aircraft veered left, GPS showed a brief climb and reducing groundspeed, consistent with eyewitness accounts.
Radar data from the previous day’s training flight showed five circuits to Runway 21, with the first four likely touch-and-go landings, though one may have been a low go-around.
Pilot Comments
The pilot later speculated that wake turbulence from a helicopter might have been a cause, as the airfield was used for helicopter training. He noted he had not practiced go-arounds since September 2016 except for a lesson on 13 May 2017. He believed he had never performed a low-level go-around before.