What happened
On 21 August 2018, a Skyranger 912(2), registration G-CCMX, was participating in a private flight to an evening fly-in at a local airstrip near Cheltenham. While approaching Runway 26, the pilot executed a high approach to maintain clearance from trees located at the runway extremities. This resulted in the aircraft touching down midway along the grass runway.
Upon landing, the aircraft encountered a bump that caused it to become airborne again. The subsequent touchdown occurred on the nosewheel before the aircraft rocked back onto the main wheels. Noticing an increasing oscillation in pitch, the pilot initiated a go-around. However, the aircraft lacked the necessary distance to clear the trees at the far end of the strip or to maneuver around them. As the aircraft neared the obstacle, the airspeed decreased, causing the aircraft to stall into the tree canopy. The aircraft came to rest approximately 10 metres above a footpath. While the pilot and passenger escaped without injury, the aircraft sustained damage that rendered it beyond economical repair.
The investigation
The investigation established that the distance between the trees at either end of the runway was roughly 500 metres. At the moment the go-around was initiated, the aircraft was less than 250 metres from the trees at the end of the runway, which stood over 10 metres tall. The pilot, who was visiting the airstrip for the first time, noted that the sequence of events occurred very rapidly. The investigation also considered the pilot's decision-making regarding the approach and the timing of the aborted landing.