What happened
On 19 April 2019, a Replica Fokker DR1, registration G-DREI, was involved in an accident during a private flight at Old Buckenham Airfield in Norfolk. The pilot had flown the aircraft from Felthorpe Airfield to Old Buckenham and, upon arrival, consulted the airfield radio operator regarding taxiing and departure procedures.
After observing the windsock, the pilot intended to depart from either Runway 02 or 07. The aircraft was positioned on the grass area at the start of these runways. During the takeoff roll on Runway 02, the aircraft's right wheel struck an edge marker. This impact caused the aircraft to rotate forward and invert. The accident resulted in minor injuries to the single occupant, though the aircraft sustained significant damage to its engine, propeller, cowling, rudder, upper wing, and airframe.
The investigation
Investigators examined the sequence of events leading to the collision and the communication between the pilot and the airfield staff. It was established that the airfield radio operator had observed the aircraft was aligned with Runway 02 rather than the wind-favourable Runway 07. The operator issued an instruction to the pilot to move to the right to correct the alignment.
However, the pilot misinterpreted this guidance. Rather than shifting the aircraft's heading toward Runway 07, the pilot understood the instruction as a requirement to taxi toward the right-hand side of the existing runway. Consequently, the aircraft remained aligned with Runway 02 but was positioned too far to the right. Furthermore, the investigation noted that the structural design of the tri-plane provided very poor forward visibility while on the ground, which prevented the pilot from seeing the edge marker or the actual runway alignment.