What happened
On 31 October 2014, a Skyranger Swift 912S, registration G-CDMV, was performing a private flight when it attempted to land on Runway 23 at London Colney Airstrip in Hertfordshire. At the time of the approach, wind conditions at the nearby Elstree Airfield were recorded as a southerly 8 knots.
Upon touching down, the aircraft experienced two consecutive bounces. During the subsequent sequence, the nose landing gear failed, causing the aircraft to flip onto its back. The incident resulted in damage to the propeller, the windscreen, and the nose landing gear, though the pilot escaped without injury.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. Investigators looked into the environmental conditions and the pilot's actions during the landing phase. While wind reports from Elstree indicated relatively steady conditions, the pilot noted that other observations at the airfield suggested highly variable wind speeds, which may have influenced the aircraft's behavior during the touchdown.
Findings
- The aircraft experienced a series of bounces during the landing roll.
- The nosewheel collapsed following these bounces, leading to the aircraft flipping inverted.
- The pilot failed to initiate a go-around after the first bounce occurred.