History of the Flight
The pilot, accompanied by a passenger, departed Wycombe Air Park for a local flight to Silverstone. Prior to the flight, the pilot had completed three circuits with an instructor to regain currency after exceeding the club’s 30-day limit. The weather was good with broken cumulus cloud at 3,000 ft and excellent visibility. Wind was from 270° at 12 kt, gusting to 20 kt.
The flight lasted approximately 40 minutes. Upon return, the pilot set up for an approach to Runway 25R, which has an asphalt surface and a length of 735 m. The pilot reported that the approach was normal but, due to the gusty wind, he used an approach speed of 75 to 80 kt. He considered the approach stable, slightly left of the runway centreline, with flaps set to 20°. Clearance to land was received just after crossing the M40 motorway, about 200 m from the threshold. The airspeed at the threshold was close to 75 kt, above the recommended approach speed. The late ATC call was attributed to another aircraft vacating the runway.
Landing and Bounce
The pilot and witnesses observed that the aircraft touched down nose-first, resulting in a substantial bounce. The aircraft then drifted to the left of the runway in a series of approximately five further bounces. The pilot was able to bring the aircraft to a halt on the grass taxiway, between the asphalt and grass runways. Neither the pilot nor the passenger was injured.
Damage
The aircraft sustained damage to the lower portion of the firewall and distortion of the right-hand landing gear leg. Minor damage occurred to the aft fuselage from tail strikes.
Causal Factors
The pilot considered that his approach speed was too high and that he should have initiated a go-around, either before the landing or after the first bounce. He identified contributory factors as his lack of recent flying and some degree of distraction from the previous landing aircraft still on the runway and the resulting late clearance to land. The instructor who performed the currency check commented that the pilot had flown the three circuits well. She suggested that the poor later landing was partly due to adding too much speed for the gusty wind, as the pilot appeared to have added 10 to 15 kt rather than the conventional 5 kt.