What happened
On 1 November 2001, an Aeronca 7AC Champion, registration G-BRWA, was conducting a private flight at Scotland Farm, located near Hook, Hampshire. During the approach, the pilot was flying on a right base leg at 1,300 feet amsl. As the aircraft turned onto final approach, the pilot's forward visibility was significantly obstructed by the glare of the setting sun.
While descending, the pilot observed a microlight aircraft that had recently departed in the opposite direction and was approaching the path of the Aeronly 7AC Champion. To avoid flying back into the direct sunlight and losing sight of the other aircraft, the pilot opted not to perform a go-around. Instead, the pilot reduced throttle and increased the rate of descent to land immediately.
The aircraft touched down on a portion of the runway that was waterlogged. This caused the aircraft to decelerate rapidly. During the deceleration, the tail of the aircraft rose and subsequently sank, resulting in the propeller tips making contact with the ground.
The investigation
The investigation established that the grass strip at the airfield was oriented 250°(M) and that approximately half of the available landing distance was saturated with water. The surface wind was light, originating from the northwest at two to three knots.
It was noted that the pilot was operating without a radio. Because the airfield had very low traffic density, the pilot had not performed an overhead join to check for other aircraft in the vicinity. The investigation also confirmed that the pilot's vision was compromised by the position of the sun relative to the trees at the western end of the runway.