Aircraft and Flight Details
The aircraft involved was a Cessna 152, registration G-BNJD, manufactured in 1979 and powered by a single Lycoming O-235-L2C piston engine. On 1 August 2003 at 1700 UTC, the aircraft was conducting a private flight from Prestwick Airport to Crosland Moor Aerodrome near Huddersfield, North Yorkshire. On board were the pilot and one passenger. Both occupants sustained minor injuries. The aircraft sustained damage to the landing gear, propeller, windscreen, and slight damage to the wings.
The pilot, aged 42, held a Private Pilot's Licence with a Night Rating and had accumulated 132 hours of flying experience, of which 44 were on type. In the previous 90 days, he had flown 26 hours, and in the last 28 days, 10 hours.
Flight History and Accident Circumstances
The flight from Prestwick was uneventful. The pilot joined the traffic pattern on the downwind leg for Runway 25 at Crosland Moor. Weather conditions were good, with a surface wind from 240° at 20 kt. Runway 25 is 800 metres long, consisting of 550 metres of asphalt followed by 250 metres of grass, with an upslope of 2.6° on the asphalt portion.
This was the pilot's first landing at Crosland Moor. He had consulted Pooleys Flight Guide for relevant information, which contained a note advising pilots to land well beyond the threshold when Runway 25 was in use. No explanation was provided, but the pictorial display showed a quarry at the eastern end of the runway, indicating a possible source of wind variations.
During base leg, the pilot selected carburettor heat to 'Hot' and flaps to 20°. He turned onto final approach intending to select flaps to 30° later. Once established on final, his visual perception was that he was too high, so he reduced power while maintaining approximately 55 kt. Shortly after, he became aware of an increased rate of descent and increased power. This appeared to have no effect, and he decided to go-around. He selected carburettor heat to 'Cold' and applied full power. The rate of descent continued to increase, and he retracted flaps to 10° just before the aircraft struck the ground about 30 metres before the runway threshold.
Pilot Comments and Observations
The pilot considered that the accident resulted from the wind effects of the quarry. However, other aspects may have been relevant: the pilot had no experience of the aerodrome, and it would have been sensible to carry out a circuit and go-around before landing. Additionally, the upslope of the runway may have given an unusual visual aspect, leading the pilot to think he was too high. The retraction of flaps to 10° in an attempt to arrest the descent was also noted; on review, the pilot considered it would have been better to maintain the aircraft configuration.
The Jeppesen Bottlang Airfield Manual also contains an entry for Crosland Moor Aerodrome, which includes similar advice to land well beyond the threshold of Runway 25, but additionally warns pilots of 'possible downdraughts overhead the quarry 100 m from THR'. A similar warning is to be included in the Pooleys Flight Guide at the next amendment.