Incident
As the aircraft approached East Wallabi Island, the EPIRB positioned on the pilot’s right hip obstructed the flap lever and prevented the flaps from locking in the full flap position. The pilot did not consider a go-around to allow for trouble shooting or repositioning of the EPIRB and continued the approach with just the first stage of flap extended. That configuration increased the required landing distance compared to the use of full flaps, although there was still sufficient runway length available to land safely.
During the landing flare, the reduced drag of the first stage flap setting, possibly combined with a higher than normal approach speed, led to a longer float. While a go-around should again have been considered after the aircraft floated significantly beyond the intended landing point, from the touchdown point it was possible to stop the aircraft in the remaining runway using maximum braking. However, possibly due to the priority given to retracting the flaps and the pilot not immediately recognising the risk of an overrun, maximum braking was not applied until insufficient runway remained to prevent the overrun.