What happened
On 5 September 2012, a Beech A23 Musketeer II, registration G-ATBI, was involved in a ground accident at Fishburn Airfield in County Durham. The aircraft was being operated on a private flight and was in the process of taxiing toward the threshold of Runway 26 for an into-wind departure.
The airfield's grass runway featured various gradients, including a downward slope encountered as the aircraft backtracked toward the runway start. During the taxi, the aircraft gained excessive speed while moving downhill. As the pilot attempted to turn the aircraft to align with the runway, the plane skidded to the right and collided with a hedge, which brought the aircraft to a halt. The incident resulted in no injuries to the pilot or the single passenger on board, though the aircraft sustained damage to the fuselage, the stabilator, and the aileron and right wingtip.
The investigation
Following the accident, the AAIB examined the circumstances surrounding the loss of control on the ground. The investigation focused on the surface conditions and the aircraft's movement during the taxi phase. The pilot reported that the grass surface was wet, which likely contributed to the loss of braking effectiveness. The investigation also noted that the grass may have been particularly wet at the lower end of the slope where the turn was initiated.