What happened
On 30 April 2009, an Aero AT-3 R100, registration G-SACX, was conducting a private flight at Sherburn in Elmet Airfield in North Yorkshire. The pilot had been performing a series of circuits on Runway 11, consisting of both full-stop landings and touch-and-go maneuvers, for approximately ninety minutes.
During the final approach, the pilot rounded out at an excessive height, which led to a significant decay in airspeed, dropping to approximately 40 to 45 knots. This resulted in a heavy touchdown on the runway. The aircraft subsequently bounced back into the air before striking the ground on its nosewheel. As the aircraft pitched nose up, the pilot applied power to recover; however, the failure to use sufficient right rudder to counteract the resulting yaw caused the aircraft to veer. The flight concluded with the aircraft coming to a halt on the grass adjacent to the runway. There were no injuries to the pilot or the single passenger on board.
The investigation
The investigation, prompted by the pilot's accident report, examined the aircraft's condition and the sequence of the landing. Physical inspections revealed damage to the propeller blades and the nosewheel assembly. Additionally, the left wingtip, left aileron, and the pitot head were damaged, indicating that the left wing had made contact with the ground during the incident. The pilot noted that a loss of concentration during the extended period of circuit flying may have been a factor.