Introduction
On 23 October 1998, at 1337 UTC, a Cessna 152, registration G-OAFT, was involved in a landing accident at Halfpenny Green Airport, West Midlands. The aircraft was on a private flight with one pilot and no passengers. The pilot held a Private Pilot's Licence and had 85 hours of flying experience, all on type. The aircraft, manufactured in 1981, was powered by a single Lycoming O-235-L2C piston engine.
Approach and Landing
Runway 22 at Halfpenny Green has a downslope of 3 metres over 640 metres, with a significant rise just before the threshold. The surface wind during the day had been westerly at 15 to 30 kt but had abated to south-westerly at 5 to 10 kt by the afternoon.
On short finals, the aircraft passed through a rain shower that temporarily obscured the pilot's view of the runway. When the runway reappeared, it was very wet with strong reflections due to bright sun aligned with the runway. The pilot noted that the visual aspect of the runway did not match his chosen glidepath but continued the approach.
Impact and Damage
Just before the intended point of touchdown, the aircraft's main wheels contacted the rising ground short of the runway threshold, causing the aircraft to bounce. It then pitched nose down and landed on its nosewheel on the runway. The nose landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft departed the runway, coming to rest on the grass.
Damage was substantial to the nose landing gear, engine mounts, and propeller. The pilot reported no injuries.
Contributing Factors
The Chief Flying Instructor of the school from which the aircraft was hired considered that the accident was the result of a combination of factors, including the runway downslope, a wet windscreen, and strong reflections from the wet runway, leading to the relatively inexperienced pilot being placed in a difficult situation with which he was unable to cope. He also stated that a go-around from the initial bounce may have prevented the accident.