What happened
On 7 August 2008, a Cessna 152, registration G-BRNK, was conducting a training flight from Netherthorpe Airfield in Yorkshire. During the day's operations, the commander had completed several previous flights, including a successful landing on the short, wet grass runway 06 earlier that afternoon. While the aircraft was on a separate instructional flight, a rain squall moved across the airfield. The commander elected to loiter to the west for approximately 10 minutes to wait for the rain to subside and for visibility to improve.
Upon returning to the airfield, the commander initiated a short-field approach to runway 06. This runway featured a grass surface with a 1.9% downslope and a declared landing distance available of 407 metres. The approach was performed using full flaps and a reduced airspeed of 55 knots. Although the aircraft touched down at the start of the runway and initially decelerated, the braking effectiveness diminished during the ground roll. Consequently, the aircraft ran off the end of the runway at a speed of approximately 10-15 mph, subsequently striking a wire boundary fence. The impact caused damage to the propeller, spinner, and the leading edge of the right wing. There were no injuries to the two crew members on board.
The investigation
Investigators examined the runway conditions and the aircraft's performance during the landing phase. The investigation noted that the grass runway had been mown during the afternoon, prior to the accident. The crew reported that the aircraft's deceleration became minimal during the latter half of the landing roll.
Findings
- The runway surface consisted of grass that had been recently mown.
- Wet grass clippings remained on the runway surface, which significantly reduced braking effectiveness during the landing roll.